The Greatest Controversies of Early Christian History

Begin by considering why the controversies of early Christianity matter, and explore the critical difference between the perspective of the historian and the perspective of faith. Then grapple with the controversy over where Jesus was born, the historical indications, and the faith-based motives for affirming Bethlehem as his birthplace.

Belief in the virgin birth has been enormously important throughout the history of Christianity. Here, assess the theological underpinnings of this belief and the role of Mary as a divine figure. Investigate accounts of the Annunciation in Matthew and Luke, and grasp their reasons for claiming Mary conceived as a virgin.

The question of whether Jesus had siblings divided early Christians, a controversy that survives to this day. Learn about the non-canonical Acts of Thomas and its account of the missionary Didymus Judas Thomas, portrayed as Jesus’s identical twin brother, and consider how early Christians might have thought about this.

Discover the Dead Sea Scrolls as they shed important light on the historical Jesus and on Jewish life in his time. Learn how the scrolls express the worldview of Jewish apocalypticism, shared by Jesus, which anticipated the end of the age and the establishment of a new kingdom on Earth.

Grasp how scholars and historians have approached the historical accuracy of the Gospels, and track the developing critical view of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet. Contemplate the core tenets of Jesus’s teachings regarding the coming kingdom of God, and how his views threatened the social order of his time.

First assess the inaccurate portrayal of Mary Magdalene in novels and film, and trace the church tradition regarding her as a prostitute. Then review the known facts concerning Jesus’s female followers, Mary’s place in his ministry, and her likely role in his legacy both within his lifetime and afterward.

The idea that Jesus was married is purportedly supported by statements in the Talmud on ancient Jewish life. Investigate the marriage practices of early Judaism and the social reality of celibacy. Examine the role of apocalyptic thinking in affirming a life of celibacy, as seen in the teachings of Paul, the Essenes, and Jesus himself.

For the last century, scholars have disagreed on the nature of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus. Delve into the historical record concerning the figure of Judas, and trace contrasting views of his motives. Review pertinent facts surrounding Jesus’s death and evidence that what Judas divulged to the authorities was a justification for destroying Jesus.

The issue of the Jewish role in Jesus’s death became the basis for Christian anti-Semitism. To elucidate this crucial matter, investigate the events of Jesus’s final week in Jerusalem, the incendiary atmosphere surrounding the celebration of Passover, and the nature of the Jewish authorities’ response to Jesus prior to the trial and crucifixion.

The ruthless Roman governor who ordered Jesus crucified has undergone a character change over the course of Christian history. Study portrayals of Pilate in Christian storytelling, the Gospels, and non-canonical writings as they seek to exonerate him from culpability in Jesus’s death. Grapple with these sources’ reasons for downplaying Pilate’s role in Jesus’s execution.

In approaching what is perhaps the greatest Christian controversy of all, learn about ancient views of the afterlife and the meaning of resurrection in the world Jesus inhabited. Investigate scholarship on visionary experience, and the role of visions in the conviction among the first believers that Jesus was in fact resurrected.

In this lecture, trace the early Jewish conception of a future mashiach as a figure of power and grandeur, and the Christian view that a suffering messiah was predicted in the Jewish scriptures. Study the relevant scriptural passages and the core arguments dividing Christians and Jews on this critical issue.

This lecture digs deeply into the distinction between the teachings of Jesus and the Christian view of his death and resurrection that has defined the faith. Learn about Paul’s theology and the striking differences between his and Jesus’s views of the coming kingdom, in grasping Paul’s precise role in the new religion.

The matter of the authorship of the New Testament Gospels has important ramifications for understanding the historical Jesus. Investigate the dating of the Gospels, our historical knowledge of Matthew, John, Mark, and Luke, and the question of whether they possessed the skills to have written such highly literary narratives.

False claims of authorship for religious writings were common in the early church. First, trace the phenomenon of literary forgery in the ancient world, and its broad condemnation. Then study the range of New Testament writings of questionable authorship, and consider the motives for false attribution and how they were justified.

The book of Revelation stands as a provocative focal point of the New Testament. To grasp its meaning and significance, learn about the genre of ancient apocalyptic literature, Revelation’s place in that tradition, and what its contents were intended to convey to people living at the time of its writing.

Here, explore the diversity of Christianity in the 2nd century, when multiple groups claimed to represent the “original” faith. Illuminate this issue by tracing the various forms of Gnosticism, the traditional conception of orthodoxy, and evidence that what we think of as Christian orthodoxy today was in fact a later development.

This lecture highlights striking contrasts in theological conceptions of Jesus found among early Christian groups. With regard to Jesus’s divinity, uncover the views of the Adoptionists, the Marcionists, and the “separationist” view of Gnosticism in determining whether the Gnostic Gospels represent the understanding of Jesus’s earliest followers.

Stories about the later lives of Jesus’s apostles abound within the Christian tradition. Here, distinguish fact from legend by investigating the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, the non-canonical texts concerning Peter, Paul, Thomas, John, and Andrew. Evaluate these texts’ historical reliability and their significance for understanding Christianity.

The relationship of the early Christians to the Roman state is often obscured by historical inaccuracies and misperceptions. Learn about the variety of religious practices permitted by Rome, citizens’ obligations regarding social order and participation in the state religion, and perceptions of certain early Christian practices that led to the Christians’ persecution.

Investigate the place of the Jewish scriptures in the lives of Jesus and his followers and how Christian views of Jewish law changed during Paul’s mission. Trace diverse views of the Old Testament in the 2nd century in grasping how it became accepted as a Christian text.

With regard to this core Christian doctrine, learn about the earliest theological understanding of Jesus by his followers, and track changing views of Jesus’s divinity in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Grasp the thrust of the “Arian controversy,” debated at the famous Council of Nicea, which clarified the Christian understanding of the Trinity.

Drawing on current scholarship and methodology, learn about how books were produced, copied, and circulated in the ancient world, and the role of professional scribes in preserving literary materials. Identify the earliest surviving texts of the New Testament, their inconsistencies, and what we can say about their originality.

Finally, delve into the intriguing question of how the final form of the New Testament came to be—who decided on the 27 books, when the decision was made, and on what grounds. Conclude by considering why Christianity, in particular, is prone to controversy and likely to remain so.