How Jesus Became God

First, consider the huge historical significance of the Christian belief in Jesus’s divinity, in terms of its effects on Western civilization as well...

In the ancient world, there were many accounts of “divine” mortals. Track this phenomenon in the Greco-Roman polytheistic religions, noting the overla...

Delve further into the interface between the human and the divine in pagan cultures. Examine narratives describing people born of the sexual union of...

Here, discover accounts of divine humans and other godlike beings within ancient Judaism. In Genesis and Exodus, explore conceptions of divine beings...

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,...

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...

This lecture explores what Jesus said about himself, as well as what he specifically preached. Grasp the nature and purpose of Jesus’s ethical teachin...

Regarding Jesus’s final days, review the events that we know about with relative certainty. Learn about his reasons for being in Jerusalem, and the po...

Look now at events surrounding Jesus’s death that we cannot know about with certainty. Assess the plausibility of the Gospels’ accounts of his arrival...

Jesus’s resurrection stands as the basis for the entire Christian faith. But what can we know historically about the resurrection? Here, dig deeply in...

What was it that caused Jesus’s followers to believe he had been raised from the dead? Investigate the disciples’ visions of Jesus, alive again after...

In exploring the first claims about Jesus’s resurrection, this lecture discusses the phenomenon of visionary experience as understood by modern resear...

What did the earliest Christians believe about Jesus’s divinity? Delve into Romans and Acts for what they may tell us about early Christian thought, i...

Over time, Christian thought pushed the origin of Jesus’s divinity further and further back in history. Trace this development by looking at views of...

Paul’s theology represents a transition between early conceptions of Christ as exalted by God upon his death and later views of his innate or eternal...

The Gospel of John differs significantly from the other three canonical Gospels in its conception of Jesus. Investigate John’s contention that Jesus h...

In the second and third centuries, Christian groups followed radically different beliefs and theologies. Learn about the “docetists”, who believed Jes...

Among early Christian groups, the Gnostics demonstrate yet another view of the divinity of Jesus. Explore the fundamental tenets of Gnosticism, with i...

By the fourth century, the theological understanding known as “orthodoxy” became predominant. Investigate the relationship between orthodoxy and “here...

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, no...

In the third century, sharp divisions existed between Christians, involving how to explain the relation of God the Father to Christ and the Holy Spiri...

The Christian conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine was a momentous turning point for the faith. Learn about the relationship of the Roman Empir...

Constantine called the famous Council of Nicea in 325 CE, to resolve the conflicting views of Christ’s divinity. Examine the theological issues at sta...

Conclude by considering the historical ramifications of the Nicean affirmation that Jesus was God. Learn about the growing Christian faith’s effects o...