Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament ...

The New Testament

The early Christian claim that Jesus of Nazareth was God completely changed the course of Western civilization. What exactly happened, such that Jesus came to be considered God?  To ask this question is to delve into a fascinating, multilayered histo...

How Jesus Became God

What different kinds of books are in the New Testament? When, how, and why were they written? And why did some books, and not others, come to be collected into what Christians came to consider the canon of scripture that would define their belief for...

The History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon

Step back to Christianity's first three centuries to see how it transitioned from the religion of Jesus to a religion about Jesus. How did a single group from among many win the struggle for dominance to establish the beliefs central to the faith, re...

From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity

From the New York Times best-selling authority on early Christianity, the story of how Christianity grew from a religion of 20 or so peasants in rural Galilee to the dominant religion in the West in less than 400 years.  Christianity didn't have to b...

The Triumph of Christianity

Without the presence of Christianity, our world would be considerably different. Whether we view it in religious, social, or political terms, Christianity has deeply and integrally influenced the Western worldview and way of life. Yet, throughout Chr...

The Greatest Controversies of Early Christian History

From the late Roman Empire all the way to our own time, no continuously existing institution or belief system has wielded as much influence as Christianity, no figure as much as Jesus. Worshipped around the globe by more than a billion people, he is ...

The Historical Jesus

What did the "other" Scriptures followed by early Christians say? Do they exist today? How could such outlandish ideas ever be considered Christian? If such beliefs were once common, why do they no longer exist?   These are just a few of the many pro...

Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication

For years, The Great Courses has taken lifelong learners on stirring explorations of our ancient roots; ones that bring you face to face with what history means, and how we use it to understand both the past and the present. So where's the best place...

The Joy of Ancient History

The writings that make up the New Testament stand at the very foundation of Christianity. But while Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the other books of the New Testament are known to almost everyone, the writings that Christians produced in the decades...

After the New Testament: The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers

Dan Brown's immensely popular New York Times best-selling The Da Vinci Code is one of the most successful books of recent history. It has captivated millions the world over with its enthralling suspense and its provocative questions about the true na...

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code

As the home to big ideas, The Great Courses has produced thousands of lectures that have introduced millions of lifelong learners to some of the biggest ideas out there. Now, enjoy 36 lectures specially curated from some of our most popular courses a...

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