10531 Early Christianity 1

Credits: 6 advanced credits in Ancient History or in Ancient History of the Jewish People

Prerequisites: 36 credits, including one course in Ancient History or in Ancient History of the Jewish People. Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library.

Authors: Rivka Nir, Ora Limor. The materials include The Shaping of Christianity: The History and Literature of Its Formative Centuries (100-800), by G. Vallee, and a collection of articles.

The course presents the major stages in the development of Christianity and the consolidation of the early Church. These topics are analyzed through a systematic discussion of the major sources available (the New Testament, early Christian monographs, the writings of the Church fathers as well as non-Christian sources: Jewish and Pagan), with an emphasis on the difficulties which these sources present for the historian and the ways proposed in the research to reconcile and clarify them.

Topics: The origins of Christianity; Jesus – birth and activities in the Galilee; Jesus in Jerusalem; Paul – the victory of the Gentile church.

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1Students may write a seminar paper in this course, although it is not required.