REL 250 - Early Christian Thought: Orthodoxy and Heresy

FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Winter 2012 and alternate years.

Prerequisite: REL 102 or permission of the instructor. An exploration of the uncertain boundaries between orthodoxy and heresy in early Christian movements. Questions addressed include, “Who decides what is orthodox and what is heretical, how are these decisions made, and what impact do they have on institutional structures? What perennial problems in Christian thought and practice emerge in the early debates about orthodoxy and heresy, and how are those problems being addressed today?” Readings include selections from the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, “Gnostic gospels” and other so-called heretical texts, writings from the Church Fathers (with special attention to St. Augustine) and recent scholarly treatments of orthodoxy and heresy. Brown.