How Jesus Became God

Overview

Course No. 6522
The early Christian claim that Jesus of Nazareth was God completely changed the course of Western civilization. What exactly happened so that Jesus came to be considered God? This question delves into a fascinating, multilayered historical puzzle that illuminates the origins of the Western worldview and the theological underpinnings of our civilization.

This fundamental historical question speaks deeply to the spiritual impulses, concerns, and beliefs that have played a crucial role in our world, revealing the foundations of history’s most global religious movement, and fresh insights into the Western world’s single most influential human being. In 24 provocative lectures, Professor Ehrman takes you deep into how the divinity of Jesus was first conceived by his followers, demonstrating how this conception evolved over time to become core Christian theology.

A distinguished scholar of Christianity and best-selling author, Professor Ehrman develops this inquiry with meticulous research and in-depth analysis of texts. He reveals the theological understanding of Jesus as God emerged from a complex series of events and factors, each critical to grasp this extraordinary story.

Course Lectures

1. Jesus – The Man Who Became God
   Consider the historical significance of the belief in Jesus’s divinity and the diversity of early Christian thought regarding his identity.
   Duration: 33 min
2. Greco-Roman Gods Who Became Human
   Track the phenomenon of divine mortals in Greco-Roman religions and explore ancient models of divine men.
   Duration: 32 min
3. Humans as Gods in the Greco-Roman World
   Examine narratives of mortals exalted to divine status and the overlap between the human and divine.
   Duration: 32 min
4. Gods Who Were Human in Ancient Judaism
   Discover accounts in ancient Judaism that depict divine humans and beings appearing in human form.
   Duration: 31 min
5. Ancient Jews Who Were Gods
   Learn about the divine figure of the Son of Man and how kings of Israel were considered deified.
   Duration: 27 min
6. The Life and Teachings of Jesus
   Investigate the New Testament Gospels as historical sources on Jesus’s life and his apocalyptic worldview.
   Duration: 32 min
7. Did Jesus Think He Was God?
   Explore Jesus’s self-claims and his view as a prophet, along with the Jewish conception of the Messiah.
   Duration: 31 min
8. The Death of Jesus – Historical Certainties
   Review known events surrounding Jesus’s final days, including his reasons for being in Jerusalem.
   Duration: 31 min
9. Jesus’s Death – What Historians Can’t Know
   Assess the plausibility of the Gospels’ accounts of Jesus’s death and the theological implications therein.
   Duration: 31 min
10. The Resurrection – What Historians Can’t Know
    Explore the historicity of Jesus’s resurrection and what can and cannot be established.
    Duration: 34 min
11. What History Reveals about the Resurrection
    Investigate what led Jesus’s followers to believe in his resurrection, as reflected in early texts.
    Duration: 32 min
12. The Disciples’ Visions of Jesus
    Discuss the phenomenon of visionary experiences and how they impacted the disciples’ views of Jesus.
    Duration: 30 min
13. Jesus’s Exaltation – Earliest Christian Views
    Delve into Romans and Acts to understand early Christian beliefs and the adoption of Jesus as the Son of God.
    Duration: 31 min
14. The Backward Movement of Christology
    Trace the development of Christian thought in determining when Jesus became the Son of God.
    Duration: 30 min
15. Paul’s View – Christ’s Elevated Divinity
    Follow Paul’s theological transition regarding Christ’s divinity and his foundational role in early Christianity.
    Duration: 32 min
16. John’s View – The Word Made Human
    Explore John’s portrayal of Jesus as the eternal Son of God and the embodiment of God’s word.
    Duration: 31 min
17. Was Christ Human? The Docetic View
    Learn about the docetist belief that Jesus was not truly human but only appeared to be so.
    Duration: 29 min
18. The Divided Christ of the Separationists
    Investigate Gnostic views on the divinity of Jesus and their beliefs regarding salvation.
    Duration: 30 min
19. Christ’s Dual Nature – Proto-Orthodoxy
    Examine the emergence of orthodox views that asserted Christ’s dual nature as fully God and fully human.
    Duration: 32 min
20. The Birth of the Trinity
    Analyze the origins of the Trinity doctrine and its theological implications for early Christianity.
    Duration: 32 min
21. The Arian Controversy
    Explore the debates surrounding Christ’s divinity and the Arian controversy about his nature as a subordinate deity.
    Duration: 31 min
22. The Conversion of Constantine
    Understand Constantine’s conversion and its significant impact on the Christian faith and the Roman Empire.
    Duration: 32 min
23. The Council of Nicea
    Examine the outcomes of the Council of Nicea regarding the theological disputes over Christ’s nature.
    Duration: 31 min
24. Once Jesus Became God
    Conclude by considering the ramifications of the Nicean affirmation of Jesus’s divinity on later Christian developments.
    Duration: 33 min