RELI 284 - Revolution, Heresy & Messianism: The Earliest Christians

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as JWST 284) This course examines the religious/cultural background, social movements and texts that shaped Christianity from its origins in the first century of the Common Era through its consolidation as a state religion in the Roman Empire by through the fourth and fifth centuries. Was Christianity really revolutionary? To what extent did it differ from Judaism in the first century? And if it was, did it lose its “revolutionary” qualities once it became established as a state religion? How did the early Christian community and the church it created relate to dissent, heresy and, revolution and messianism, and to what extent can we identify the persecuted church with that of Rome. Agnes Veto.

Two 75-minute periods.