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Christianity Courses

Learn why Christianity is one of the world’s most enduring monotheistic faiths with these courses on its history, its core beliefs and rituals, its foundational texts, and much more.

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Save Up To $215	The Cathedral Professor William R. Cook Tour the world's most captivating cathedrals from the comfort of your own home with these 24 lavishly illustrated lectures by Professor William R. Cook. An exciting, immersive, and multidimensional learning experience, The Cathedral brings you closer to cathedrals like Notre Dame in Paris and those in Amiens, Chartres, and Canterbury than any on-site tour could hope to do. With high-definition 3-D modeling and imagery, you'll travel around and inside the world's great Gothic cathedrals from fascinating new perspectives.
	Old Testament Professor Amy-Jill Levine The Old Testament, or Tanakh, was written in ancient Israel over 1,000 years by many authors. What can this book teach us about the ancient Israelites? What does our faith find in new scholarly understanding? These lectures by scripture expert Professor Amy-Jill Levine introduce you to the history, religion, and literature of ancient Israel as preserved in the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible. Professor Levine brings biblical characters and passages to life and vividly reveals the magnificent artistry suffusing the Old Testament.
Save Up To $310	History of Christian Theology Professor Phillip Cary Who was Jesus? Did his promise of salvation apply to everyone or only a few? How could one participate in that promise? Questions like these have long been at the heart of Christianity and have led to debate and division. In The History of Christian Theology, investigate the many responses that Christian believers, scholars, and theologians have developed over more than 2,000 years. Throughout these 36 illuminating lectures, award-winning Professor Phillip Cary reveals the power of Christianity as both an intellectual discipline and a spiritual path. Enrich your understanding of this powerful religious tradition and gain thought-provoking insights into teachings that forever changed the world.
	New Testament Professor Bart D. Ehrman Whether you consider it a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings that the world has ever known. This course sheds the light of purely historical research on the New Testament—its form, the methods of its composition, its authors and their original audiences, and the larger historical context. Mindful of the limitations imposed by the available historical evidence and methods, Professor Bart. D. Ehrman brings impressive expertise to the task of reconstructing the life of Jesus and the early Christian community.
Save Up To $310	Biblical Wisdom Literature Father Joseph Koterski, S.J. In the history of wisdom literature, no tradition matches the solace and profundity found in the teachings of the Bible. In Biblical Wisdom Literature, award-winning professor Father Joseph Koterski takes you deep inside the enlightening spiritual teachings that have inspired the world. In 36 thought-provoking lectures, explore books and works such as the book of Proverbs, the book of Job, and the Song of Songs in their historical and cultural contexts. Also, examine how the teachings in these and other timeless works can be applied to everyday problems.
	Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication Professor Bart D. Ehrman In the first centuries after Christ, there was no "official" New Testament. In fact, many Christians held beliefs that today would be considered bizarre, including the belief that Christ's death and resurrection had nothing to do with salvation. What did these "other" Scriptures say? Do they exist today? If such beliefs were once common, why do they no longer exist? These are just a few of the many provocative questions you explore in Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication.
	Jesus and the Gospels Professor Luke Timothy Johnson Who was Jesus? Is it possible to shape a single picture from the various accounts of his life? Jesus and the Gospels examines the canonical Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John familiar to us from the New Testament, as well as the many other, apocryphal narratives and literary works that have contributed to our perceptions of Jesus, Mary, and Christianity. Award-winning Professor Luke Timothy Johnson designed his course to examine the Gospels as literary productions. The lectures seek to encounter not the Jesus behind those compositions, but the Jesus found within them.
	Historical Jesus Professor Bart D. Ehrman Worshiped around the globe by more than a billion people today, Jesus is undoubtedly the single most important figure in the story of Western civilization and one of the most significant in world history altogether. Yet, Jesus of Nazareth presents unique challenges to the historian, as Professor Bart D. Ehrman explains in this 24-lecture course on the search for the Jesus of history. Join him for an erudite survey of sources, methods, contexts, and problems, and then weigh his carefully thought-out historical interpretation of the words and deeds of the man from Galilee.
	History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon Professor Bart D. Ehrman The History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon offers you a fast-moving yet thorough introduction to key issues in the development of the New Testament. These include: its different kinds of books, the conditions in which they were composed, what they teach, who actually wrote them, and—perhaps most important of all—why and how some books and not others became part of the canon of scripture that would define Christianity for all time. With their scholarly approach, these insightful lectures provide a deeper understanding of the New Testament for both Christians and non-Christians alike.
Save Up To $450	Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Rise of Nations Professor Andrew C. Fix Explore four centuries of radical transformation as a decimated Europe rose from the ashes of the plague to embrace the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. In this course, you will explore the political, social, cultural, and economic revolutions that transformed Europe between the arrival of the Black Death in the 14th century and the onset of the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century.
Save Up To $215	From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity Professor Bart D. Ehrman The traditional form of Christianity we know today includes beliefs, practices, a canon of sacred scripture, and even its own stated history, but it emerged only after many years of transition and conflict—with Judaism and with what can now only be called the "lost Christianities." Professor Bart D. Ehrman takes you through Christianity's first centuries to examine its transition from the religion of Jesus to a religion about Jesus. This 24-lecture series offers you a fresh outlook on the subject's most intriguing questions.
	The Catholic Church: A History Professor William R. Cook Explore the vast and fascinating history of one of the most influential institutions in the world with The Catholic Church: A History. In 36 informative and engaging lectures, follow the development of this powerful religious force throughout the centuries and witness its ability to move armies, inspire saints, and shape the lives and spirits of its more than 1 billion members. With noted historian and Professor William R. Cook, you'll quickly realize why no understanding of Western civilization is complete without an understanding of the Catholic Church.
	Popes and the Papacy: A History Professor Thomas F. X. Noble This course is designed to illuminate for both Catholics and non-Catholics the remarkable institution known as the "Petrine Office." It is taught by Professor Thomas F. X. Noble, director of the Medieval Institute and professor of history at the University of Notre Dame—who has spent more than 30 years immersed in the subject. The insights and wisdom he has gathered along the way make Popes and the Papacy: A History a course that satisfies on every level.
Save Up To $310	Philosophy of Religion Professor James Hall Professor James Hall invites you on a 36-lecture, intellectual journey to explore the questions of divine existence which humankind has debated for centuries. You will find the tools of logic and argument the professor applies in this course offer benefits you can take far beyond the issue of God's existence or the broader subject of religion. Enjoy wrapping your mind around questions for which every potential answer triggers a new set of questions.
	Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad Professor Mark W. Muesse Discover new perspectives on the moral and spiritual precepts on which much of human civilization is built with Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. Award-winning Professor Mark W. Muesse takes you deep inside the life stories and legacies of these four iconic figures. He reveals their core teachings and sheds new light on the history that underlies their phenomenal, enduring impact on how we see and think about the world. These 36 lectures are a rare chance to examine the still-living wisdom of four great, visionary sages.