What Didn't Make it into the Bible

<p>Online Course. Over two billion people alive today consider the New Testament to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How did these decisions affect the structure of nascent Christian communities, their relationship to surrounding Greco-Roman and Jewish society, and the subsequent development of Christian churches?&#160; How would the history of the world's largest organized religion look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Christian texts are not included in the New Testament. “What Didn't Make It into the Bible” focuses on these excluded writings and uses them to help reconstruct the earliest Christian communities. We will explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient Christian romance novels, tour heaven and hell, read the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end.&#160;1 Credit. Session A: May 27 – June 28. Tuition: $5070. Technology Fee: $85.</p>