Why Christianity Happened

• Week 1: Origins
  In what sense was Jesus the founder of Christianity? Was he even a Christian? Was the bridge between him and the religion attributed to him “independent of his activity,” as has been claimed? Christ’s death signaled failure to his followers, yet within a generation they rallied, believing his resurrection was the key to eternal life. How did a man executed as a criminal come to be worshipped, and what lay behind the earliest accounts of his death and resurrection?
• Week 2: Paul
  From Paul we have the earliest writings about Jesus and the person responsible, some claim, for turning the religion of Jesus into a religion about Jesus. Was Paul the “apostle of love,” “the greatest of all missionaries,” or “the first… corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus,” who “hijacked” the Jesus movement, preaching intolerance and misogyny? We will look at the controversies surrounding Paul: his background and conversion, his views on women, his travels and his relationship to Judaism and the Law.
• Week 3: Jews and Christians
  The Jesus Movement began as a Jewish sect but by the end of the first century Jews and Christians displayed mutual hostility. Why? Was the break inevitable? Was the anti-Judaism of early Christianity an example of a uniquely Christian intolerance?
• Week 4: Romans and Christians
  How did Christians fit within the Roman Empire’s religious pluralism? What were their relations with their neighbours and 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
  Ways to account for the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire range from the message of a personal, loving god and the promise of an afterlife to ethical teachings and the social practices (inclusiveness, charity and health care) in Christian communities. Some surprising conclusions arise from a close examination based on recent scholarship.
• Week 6: Constantine
  The beginning of the fourth century saw the “Great Persecution” and then a remarkable turnabout as Christianity became at first tolerated, then favoured and, by the end of the century, the only legal religion of the Roman Empire. Why did this happen and what were the results? Finally, what can we conclude about why Christianity happened?

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Recognize the flaws in common explanations for the rise of Christianity
• Evaluate the roles and impact of Jesus, Paul and Constantine
• Relate the complexity of relations between Christians, Jews and pagans in these early centuries

• Lectures
• Participation in discussions
  
• Supplementary resources accessed through Canvas
  
• Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)

No textbook is required. We will provide all course materials online.