Christian Origins

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to the development of Christianity from a fringe, Jewish apocalyptic movement to the state religion of the Roman Empire. The course objectives are as follows: (1) to familiarize students with the history and literature of formative Christianity in its GrecoRoman context; (2) to explore Jesus traditions in the New Testament and later Christian writings; (3) to discuss the diversities of "heretical" and "orthodox" Christianity in the first four centuries; and (4) to explore the roles of women in the earliest Christian communities.