SCFC544

Why Christianity Happened: The First Four Centuries

Christianity

In the first century of the Common Era, Christians were a small, marginalized sect in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire. Their beliefs were either unknown or actively despised and legally proscribed. Three centuries later, over 50 million people were officially Christian, and emperors and nobles eagerly embraced a religion whose first followers were Galilean peasants and whose founder was a convicted criminal who had been executed. How did this transformation happen?

We will examine the reasons for this change and also explore the splitting off of Christianity from Judaism; the nature of conversion, persecution, and martyrdom; the early supporters’ social class and gender; the “lost” as well as canonical Gospels; and the variety of beliefs within early Christianity.

Note: This course was first offered in Summer 2010 in the Adults 55+ Program and has the same content.

Please note that enrolment in this course is reserved for adults 55+.

This course is available at the following time(s) and location(s):

Section Session(s) Date/time Campus Instructor(s) Cost Registration
SCFC544-VA1137 6 Mondays
Sept 9–Oct 21
11:30 am–1:20 pm
(no class Oct 14)		 Van Marlene LeGates $104 Join waitlist

What will I learn?

Week 1: Origins

Christ’s death signaled failure to his followers, yet within a generation they rallied, believing he was not only a prophet and miracle worker but God’s son. How did a criminal come to be worshipped, and what lay behind the earliest accounts of his death and resurrection?

Week 2: Paul

The earliest writings about Jesus are from Paul, the person responsible, some claim, for turning the religion of Jesus into a religion about Jesus. We will look at his conversion, travels, relationship to Judaism and his relation with his followers and rivals, and his teachings on women.

Week 3: Jews and Christians

The Jesus Movement began as a Jewish sect, but by the end of the 1st century Jews and Christians displayed mutual hostility. Why? Was this break inevitable? What were the attitudes of the early Christians toward their Jewish antecedents?

Week 4: Pagans and Christians, Christians and Christians

How did Christianity fit within the Roman Empire’s religious pluralism? What were their relations with their neighbours, with the Roman authorities? Were they a perpetually hounded minority, driven underground by unremitting persecutions? And what rifts developed within their ranks?

Week 5: Conversion

From a few hundred members in the 1st century Christianity had grown to an estimated 5,000,000 to 7,000,000 by the year 300. How can we account for this? We will look at the influence of teachings, miracles, persecutions, and martyrdom, and the Christian communities’ ethical practices.

Week 6: Constantine

The 4th century brought a remarkable turnabout as Christianity became first a tolerated, then a favoured relgion, and then the Roman Empire’s only legal belief system. How did this happen, and what were the results of this change?

How will I learn?

  • Lectures
  • Discussion (may vary from class to class)
  • Papers (applicable only to certificate students)

Who should take this course?

This course is for anyone who is interested in learning about the historical origins of the Christian belief-system and its early development.

How will I be evaluated?

(For certificate students only)

Your instructor will evaluate you based on an essay you will complete at the end of the course. You will receive a grade of “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory.”

Textbooks and learning materials

Reading material (if applicable) will be available in class. Some course materials may be available online.

If you're 55+, you may take this course as part of

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