After Jesus Before Christianity: New Discoveries

🌟 Course Title: After Jesus Before Christianity: New Discoveries 🌟

Explore the Earliest Years of Christianity with Expert Shirley Paulson 🚀

Join us on an enlightening journey through the pivotal period after Jesus's death and before the formalization of Christianity. In this course, Shirley Paulson, a prominent figure in the Westar Institute’s Christianity Seminar, alongside Deborah Saxon, shares groundbreaking discoveries that reshape our understanding of early Christian history. 📚

Course Description:

Dive deep into the first two centuries CE with "After Jesus Before Christianity: New Discoveries," a course that offers a fresh lens on the formative years of the Christian movement. This is not just another history lesson—it's a transformative experience that challenges conventional narratives and encourages a renaissance in our appreciation of early Christian thought.

Key Course Highlights: ✨

• Inside Look at the Westar Institute’s Christianity Seminar: Discover how a group of scholars over eight years unearthed new insights about Jesus's followers and their diverse beliefs.
• Challenge Traditional Views: Learn which long-held assumptions may no longer serve us and understand why some practices are not rooted in the earliest Christian communities.
• Women in Leadership: Explore the influential roles women played and how they were perceived in this formative period.
• Ancient Perspectives on Gender: Uncover the fluid understanding of gender among Jesus's followers.
• Diverse Beliefs and Identities: Engage with the variety of ideas about self, suffering, and death that coexisted before any New Testament was canonized.
• Redefining Jesus, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: Examine how these key figures were understood differently in the earliest texts.
• Before the "Gnostics" and "Hereticals": Reassess the terms "Gnosticism" and "heresy" in light of new findings.

Course Structure: 📐

• Inspirational Introductions: Set the stage for each section with thought-provoking insights.
• Detailed Lectures: Engage with scholarly content that brings the past to life.
• Resources for Further Study: Dive deeper into topics with recommended readings and materials.
• Opportunities for Reflection: Connect the dots between ancient history and contemporary faith practices.

Course Content Breakdown: 🔍

The course is structured into six key sections, covering a range of topics including:

1. Questioning Early Christian Assumptions: What were they, and why should we re-examine them?
2. Women Leaders: The roles and influence of women in the early Christian movement.
3. Ancient Gender Understandings: How gender was perceived and experienced among Jesus’s followers.
4. Diverse Beliefs: A look at the wide array of ideas about identity, suffering, and death in early Christianity.
5. Visionaries and Visionaries: Re-examining the figures of Jesus, Paul, and Mary Magdalene.
6. Before "Gnosticism" and "Heresy": Understanding texts and beliefs before the New Testament's formation.

Your Journey Awaits: 🛣️

Embark on this transformative learning adventure to uncover the untold stories of Christianity’s formative years. With expert guidance from Shirley Paulson, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how early Christian beliefs were shaped and how they continue to influence our modern world.

Ready to rewrite history? Enroll now and embark on a journey of discovery that will forever change your perception of the origins of Christianity. 🌾✨