How Jesus Became God -- Autumn 2014 Adult Sunday School Class

The following is the schedule of classes. The lecture titles with strike through text are not being shown, however text or audio recording of the skipped lectures are availble for those who request them.

Lecture 1 Jesus - The Man Who Became God: First, consider the huge historical significance of the Christian belief in Jesuss divinity, in terms of its effects on Western civilization as well as todays world. Learn about different scholarly views of the historical Jesus, and trace the remarkable diversity of early Christian thought regarding Christian identity, scripture, and theological understandings of Jesus.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 1.

Lecture 2 Greco-Roman Gods Who Became Human: In the ancient world, there were many accounts of divine mortals. Track this phenomenon in the Greco-Roman polytheistic religions, noting the overlap between the human and divine worlds. Explore three ancient models of divine men, in both mythology and Christian scripture, as gods take on human form and humans enter the heavenly realm.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 2.

Lecture 3 Humans as Gods in the Greco-Roman World: Delve further into the interface between the human and the divine in pagan cultures. Examine narratives describing people born of the sexual union of gods with mortals, highlighting examples such as Alexander the Great. In the Roman and Egyptian worlds, look at cases of humans who were exalted to the status of gods.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 3.

Lecture 4 Gods Who Were Human in Ancient Judaism: Here, discover accounts of divine humans and other godlike beings within ancient Judaism. In Genesis and Exodus, explore conceptions of divine beings that appear in human form. In other Jewish texts, study narratives of humans who become angelic beings, as well as stories of the offspring of angels and humans.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 4.

Lecture 5 Ancient Jews Who Were Gods: In ancient Judaism, beings other than the one true God could be considered to be or even called God. Learn about the divine figure of the Son of Man, and the Jewish conception of a second God. Observe how divine attributes of God were personified, and how humans such as the kings of Israel were deified.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 5.

September 7, 2014

Lecture 6 The Life and Teachings of Jesus: In approaching the historical Jesus, consider why the New Testament Gospels are the only useful early sources on his life, and study the criteria used by scholars for evaluating the Gospels as history. Then investigate Jesuss apocalyptic world view, which envisioned the imminent end of history and a coming kingdom of God.

September 14, 2014

Lecture 7 Did Jesus Think He Was God? This lecture explores what Jesus said about himself, as well as what he specifically preached. Grasp the nature and purpose of Jesuss ethical teachings, and his view of himself as a prophet of the coming kingdom. Study the Jewish conception of the Messiah as a warrior-king who would overthrow the enemies of Israel.

Lecture 8 The Death of Jesus - Historical Certainties: Regarding Jesuss final days, review the events that we know about with relative certainty. Learn about his reasons for being in Jerusalem, and the political tensions surrounding the Passover celebration there. Consider what led to his arrest, the nature of the charges against him, and what we can infer about his trial.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 8.

Lecture 9 Jesus's Death - What Historians Can't Know: Look now at events surrounding Jesuss death that we cannot know about with certainty. Assess the plausibility of the Gospels accounts of his arrival in Jerusalem, the date of his crucifixion, and the matter of his burial. Grasp how Christian writers made changes in the accounts of his death to serve theological ends.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 9.

Lecture 10 The Resurrection - What Historians Can't Know: Jesuss resurrection stands as the basis for the entire Christian faith. But what can we know historically about the resurrection? Here, dig deeply into the question of what historians can and cannot demonstrate about the past, and consider aspects of the stories of Jesuss resurrection that are historically doubtful or unknowable.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 10.

Lecture 11 What History Reveals about the Resurrection: What was it that caused Jesuss followers to believe he had been raised from the dead? Investigate the disciples visions of Jesus, alive again after his death, as reflected in Paul and the Gospels. Learn also about the tradition of doubt in the resurrection, and the meaning to early Christians of being resurrected.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 11.

Lecture 12 The Disciples Visions of Jesus: In exploring the first claims about Jesuss resurrection, this lecture discusses the phenomenon of visionary experience as understood by modern researchers. Learn about the variety of religious and bereavement visions people experience, and the ways in which the disciples visions and beliefs about Jesus combined to impact their conception of him as divine.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 12.

Lecture 13 Jesus's Exaltation - Earliest Christian Views: What did the earliest Christians believe about Jesuss divinity? Delve into Romans and Acts for what they may tell us about early Christian thought, identifying the pre-literary creeds they quote from. Observe how these creeds indicate a view that Jesus was adopted as the Son of God precisely upon his resurrection.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 13.

September 28, 2014

Lecture 14 The Backward Movement of Christology: Over time, Christian thought pushed the origin of Jesuss divinity further and further back in history. Trace this development by looking at views of Jesus in the New Testament Gospels. Focus on the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, noting their differing versions of when Jesus became the Son of God.
LINK to transcript of Lecture 14.

October 5, 2014

Lecture 15 Pauls View - Christs Elevated Divinity: Pauls theology represents a transition between early conceptions of Christ as exalted by God upon his death and later views of his innate or eternal divinity. Trace Pauls seminal role within the early church, and his view of Jesus as a divine being whose actions raised him to a higher level of divinity.

October 12, 2014

Lecture 16 Johns View: The Word Made Human: The Gospel of John differs significantly from the other three canonical Gospels in its conception of Jesus. Investigate Johns contention that Jesus had always been the Son of God and the equal of God the Father. Contemplate Johns identification of Christ as the embodiment of the word of God, or logos.

October 19, 2014

Lecture 17 Was Christ Human?: The Docetic View In the second and third centuries, Christian groups followed radically different beliefs and theologies. Learn about the docetists, who believed Jesus was not human, but only appeared to be so, highlighting Marcion, a docetist who conceived of two distinct godsa God of the Jews and a God of Jesus.

October 26, 2014

Lecture 18 The Divided Christ of the Separationists: Among early Christian groups, the Gnostics demonstrate yet another view of the divinity of Jesus. Explore the fundamental tenets of Gnosticism, with its notion of secret knowledge as the source of salvation. Discover the Gnostic separationist view of Christ, according to which the divine Christ inhabited, temporarily, the human Jesus.

November 2, 2014

Lecture 19 Christs Dual Nature: Proto-Orthodoxy By the fourth century, the theological understanding known as orthodoxy became predominant. Investigate the relationship between orthodoxy and heresy, or conflicting conceptions of the faith, and evidence that orthodoxy was not the original form of Christianity. Learn about early proto-orthodox writers, and their contention that Jesus was both fully God and fully human.

November 9, 2014

Lecture 20 The Birth of the Trinity: The doctrine of the Trinity asserts that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are all individually God. Look into the origins of this mysterious claim, noting that the Trinity appears nowhere in the Bible. Learn about the conception of modalism, which proposed that the three are manifestations of one being, and modalisms opponents.

November 16, 2014

Lecture 21 The Arian Controversy: In the third century, sharp divisions existed between Christians, involving how to explain the relation of God the Father to Christ and the Holy Spirit. Examine the proto-orthodox thought of Novatian, and learn about the Arian controversy stemming from the highly divisive view of Christ as a subordinate deity created by God.

November 23, 2014

Lecture 22 The Conversion of Constantine: The Christian conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine was a momentous turning point for the faith. Learn about the relationship of the Roman Empire to early Christianity, and the specific reasons why Christians were persecuted by Rome. Grasp Constantines motives for converting to Christianity and for becoming directly involved in theological controversies.

November 30, 2014

Lecture 23 The Council of Nicea: Constantine called the famous Council of Nicea in 325 CE, to resolve the conflicting views of Christs divinity. Examine the theological issues at stake, pitting the Christological views of Arius against those of Alexander of Alexandria. Contemplate the political implications of the outcome, and the resulting orthodox creed, establishing Jesus fully as God.

Lecture 24 Once Jesus Became God: Conclude by considering the historical ramifications of the Nicean affirmation that Jesus was God. Learn about the growing Christian faiths effects on paganism and the advent of anti-Jewish thought and action. Observe how the theological debates continued, and review Jesuss path to becoming the object of faith for billions today.