Sunday School

 

Take an academic approach to the study of Christian origins in these two illuminating courses by award-winning Professor Bart D. Ehrman. The New Testament draws on modern biblical scholarship, recent archaeological discoveries, and careful literary analysis to trace the history of the New Testament and the early Christian community. These 24 sessions provide you with a carefully reasoned understanding of this central Christian text. Study the entire canon—from the Gospel of Mark to the book of Revelation—from a respectful and scholarly perspective. At the end of this illuminating course, you'll come to realize how this work has influenced both Western civilization and the daily lives of so many people.

The Historical Jesus sets out to answer the question: Who was Jesus of Nazareth, and what was he like? You approach this thought-provoking question from a purely historical perspective. Over the course of 24 sessions, you discover why it has proven so difficult to know about the "Jesus of history" and examine some of the many fascinating conclusions that scholars have reached. By situating Jesus within his own times and within the context of the canonical and apocryphal works that describe him, you'll be better equipped to understand one of history's most important figures.

Course Session Titles:  (First Session February 14,2010)
  1. The Early Christians and Their Literature
  2. The Greco-Roman Context
  3. Ancient Judaism
  4. The Earliest Traditions About Jesus
  5. Mark—Jesus the Suffering Son of God
  6. Matthew—Jesus the Jewish Messiah
  7. Luke—Jesus the Savior of the World
  8. John—Jesus the Man from Heaven
  9. Noncanonical Gospels
  10. The Historical Jesus—Sources and Problems
  11. The Historical Jesus—Solutions and Methods
  12. Jesus the Apocalyptic Prophet
  13. The Acts of the Apostles
  14. Paul—The Man, the Mission, and the Modus Operandi
  15. Paul and the Crises of His Churches—First Corinthians
  16. Pauline Ethics
  17. Paul’s Letter to the Romans
  18. Paul, Jesus, and James
  19. The Deutero-Pauline Epistles
  20. The Pastoral Epistles
  21. The Book of Hebrews and the Rise of Christian Anti-Semitism
  22. First Peter and the Persecution of the Early Christians
  23. The Book of Revelation
  24. Do We Have the Original New Testament?