Early Christian Apocryphal Literature

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Early Christian authors wrote imaginatively and thoughtfully about Jesus and the apostles, about the prophets and visionaries of the Old Testament, or about visions of heaven and hell. This material is not contained in the canonical Scriptures but has been transmitted outside the canon. This course will offer the opportunity to read and study this literature firsthand, going beyond some of the popular misunderstandings of apocryphal literature to a proper estimation of these products of the pious imagination. We will read apocryphal gospels (such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Infancy Gospel of James, and several others), apocryphal stories about the apostles (e.g., Acts of Paul and Thecla, Acts of John), early Christian apocalypses, and Christian stories that draw on Old Testament figures, among other others.