[Advising] upper-division elective: HUM 4953, Unorthodox Christianity

Here's another option for your students looking for an upper-division elective: HUM 4953, Unorthodox Christianity. Course description: Christianity today exists in many different forms, with different beliefs and practices, but the range of beliefs and practices is small compared with Christianity in the first few centuries of its existence. In fact, it might be better to speak of various "Christianities" during the pre-Constantinian era than of a single Christianity. In this course, we will examine the notions of orthodoxy and heresy, and we'll look at the beliefs and practices of groups outside the stream that developed into orthodoxy by examining the texts they used when possible and the complaints of their opponents when such texts have not been preserved. We will focus especially on many of the noncanonical gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Judas, and the newly discovered fragment called the Gospel of Jesus' Wife. We will examine the life and work of Marcion, "the first great heretic of the church," explore different forms of Gnostic Christianity, and look at the incredible variety of Christianity found in Syria, India, and elsewhere beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire. We will examine the role that women played in these unorthodox communities, and we'll ask what evidence there is for Jesus being married. Finally, we'll look at the medieval community called the Albigenses or Cathari, which threatened the authority of the orthodox church so much that the pope declared a crusade against them. I'm teaching it, if it makes, so encourage your students to sign up! They should have finished WRC 1023 prior to enrolling, but no other prereqs are required, so feel free to set overrides for them if necessary. Jimmy James R. Adair, Ph.D. Associate Director of Advising Technology Lecturer II, Department of Philosophy & Classics One UTSA Circle San Antonio, TX 78255 210-458-6216