RELS 280-01, Introduction to the New Testament and Early Christianity, Spring 2006

Abstract

This course is designed as an in-depth study of the formation of the New Testament and its related literature, and of their role in early Christianity. The course title, “Introduction to the New Testament and Early Christianity,” is descriptive of the content of the course, which will concentrate on four things: 1) the Greco-Roman pagan and Jewish backgrounds within which Christianity arose and with which it eventually struggled and broke; 2) the possibility of knowing anything about an “historical” Jesus; 3) the development of the distinct religion known as “Christianity” from its sectarian origins and the varieties of early Christianity; and 4) the sacred literature, both canonical and extra-canonical, produced within this framework, and the very diverse Christians to whom it appealed