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What You Will Learn

This course aims at providing students with the necessary knowledge and skills to both discover for themselves what scholarship thinks of the Historical Jesus, and to help them come to their own conclusions about where the evidence currently points.

  • Learn about two long forgotten gospels (Q and Thomas) that have transformed modern discussions about both early Christianity and the identity of Jesus.

  • Explore the Second Temple Jewish background of Jesus by exploring non-canonical texts such as the Parables of Enoch in 1 Enoch, seeking to discover what role, if any, such documents played both for Jesus and the evangelists.

  • Discover why scholars are unable to agree on whether Jesus was a mystic, cynic philosopher, or apocalyptic messiah.

  • Investigate why and how early Christians believed it was acceptable and possible to disagree with things that Jesus said, and what importance this might have for studying the historical context of Jesus.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    1. The Q Source

    • Recording Lecture 1 (Aug 16, 2020)

    • Q Contradictions Slideshow from Class

    • John Kloppenborg Excerpt

    • Bart Ehrman Textbook Excerpt

    • Burton Mack Translation and Analysis of Proposed Q1, Q2, and Q3

    • Dunn Jesus Remembered Q Excerpt

    • The Critical Edition of Q (Hermeneia Translation)

    • The Q Source - Side by Side

    • Sara Parks Explains the Value of Q

    • Sara Parks Discusses Women in Q

    • Short Clip from Documentary, featuring Stephen Patterson and John Crossan

    • Four Source Hypothesis Summary
  • 2

    2. The Gospel of Thomas

    • AUG 23, 2020 Recording

    • Gospel of Thomas - Scholars Version

    • Lambdin Translation of Thomas taken from Ehrman's Lost Scripture's book

    • Ehrman and Plese Translation with Greek Fragments

    • Paul Foster Excerpt

    • John Kloppenborg Excerpt

    • Bart Ehrman Textbook Excerpt

    • Dale Martin Lecture at Yale on Thomas

    • Gospel of Thomas BBC Documentary

    • April DeConick's Reconstructed "Original" Version of Thomas, Plus Commentary on First Two Sayings

    • Barnstone Lyrical Translation of Thomas

    • Patterson Article Defending Independence of Thomas
  • 3

    3. From Oral to Narrative

    • Aug 30, 2020 Recording

    • Bart Ehrman Jesus Before the Gospels

    • Bart Ehrman Textbook Excerpt

    • Second Ehrman Textbook Excerpt on Mark

    • Redaction Criticism Example

    • Burton Mack Demise of Q Excerpt

    • Dale Martin Lecture at Yale on Mark
  • 4

    4. The Quest for the Historical Jesus

    • Sept 6 Recording

    • Bart Ehrman Textbook Excerpt

    • Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright Chapters

    • Dale Martin Lecture at Yale on the Historical Jesus

    • N.T. Wright Assesses the Historical Jesus

    • Ehrman Lecture 1 on Historical Criteria

    • Ehrman Lecture 2 on Historical Criteria
  • 5

    5. Detour: 1 Enoch's Parables

    • Sept 13, 2020 Recording

    • Hermeneia Translation of 1 Enoch (Book of Parables)

    • John Collins Intro to 1 Enoch's Book of Parables

    • deSilva's Jewish Teachers of Jesus Excerpt

    • Eerdman's Commentary on Parables of Enoch

    • Hermeneia Commentary 1 Enoch Ch. 47

    • Wendall Commentary 1 Enoch 47

    • Zolondek Article on Jesus' Death Predictions

    • Did Jesus Predict His Death? Licona
  • 6

    6. The Early Jesus - John the Baptist with Prof. James F. McGrath

    • SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING (Special Discussion)

    • Dunn Jesus Remembered John the Baptist Excerpt

    • The Mandaean Book of John Ch. 18 and 30 Translation + Commentary

    • TUESDAY SPECIAL GUEST LECTURE Dr. McGrath

    • Sept 20, 2020 - Part 1

    • Sept 20, 2020 (Part 2)
  • 7

    7. The Sayings of Jesus - John Dominic Crossan / Q with Sara Parks

    • SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING GUEST LECTURE Dr. CROSSAN

    • TUESDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • Sept 27, 2020 Recording with Sara Parks
  • 8

    8. Cynic, Sage, Mystic, or the Son of Man?

    • TUESDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • Bart Ehrman Textbook Excerpt

    • Borg and N.T. Wright Chapters

    • Burton Mack Cynic Q Gospel Excerpt

    • Oct 4, 2020 Recording
  • 9

    9. Parables, Riddles, or Non-sense?

    • SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • TUESDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • Placeholder Article

    • Orphan Sayings - Scholars Version

    • Parables Parallels

    • Jesus: A Very Short Introduction Bauckham Excerpt

    • Dunn Jesus Remembered Excerpt

    • Oct 18 2020 Recording
  • 10

    10. Consistency or Inconsistency… or Both?

    • SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • Stephen Patterson Article

    • Ehrman Lecture

    • Ehrman Jesus, Interrupted Quote

    • TUESDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • Oct 25, 2020 Recording
  • 11

    11. Rejecting Jesus

    • SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • Korpman Article

    • Burton Mack Authority of Jesus Q excerpt

    • Apocryphon of James Translation

    • Jesus Taught Violence Opinion Piece

    • Violent Jesus in Matthew article - David Sim

    • Violence in Matthew Article - Reid
  • 12

    Season 1 Recordings (May-July 2020)

    • (1) Sunday Class Recording

    • (1) Tuesday Class Recording

    • (2) SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING PART 1

    • (2) SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING PART 2

    • (2) TUESDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • (3) SUNDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • (3) TUESDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • (4) Sunday Class Recording

    • (4) TUESDAY CLASS RECORDING

    • (5) Sunday and Tuesday CLASS RECORDING
Watch Intro Video

Introduction Video

Instructor

Matthew Korpman

Matthew J. Korpman is a rising biblical scholar, itinerant preacher, and theological arsonist, and the author of the recent book "Saying No to God: A Radical Approach to Reading the Bible Faithfully." Currently pursuing his PhD in New Testament, he is a graduate of Yale Divinity School, and also also holds four bachelor degrees in Theology, Archaeology, Philosophy, and Screenwriting. He has traveled and excavated in Israel and Jordan, and is proud to call San Diego, California his home. He has been published in some of the top academic journals and has upcoming publications at publishers such as Oxford.

Student Reviews

"This Is The Class For You"

Joseph S.

"If you are looking for a challenging, yet not too overwhelming, introduction to research in the Historical Jesus or biblical studies in general, aimed at laymen and serious scholars alike, then this is the class for you. Great value."

FAQ

  • How Will Classes Be Conducted?

    Classes will be done via live Zoom meetings. These meetings will be recorded and uploaded to the website here for students so that they can either watch it because they missed the class, or review it because they wanted to remember something said during it.

  • Will There Be Quizzes or Exams?

    No. The course will be conducted as a research seminar and your primary objective will be to read, discuss, and understand the material.

  • How Long Will The Course Be?

    The course will be approximately three months long, or 10 or so weeks. This is about the length of an academic Quarter.

  • Will I Need To Buy Textbooks?

    Yes. You will need to buy the first textbook for the class: Stephen J. Patterson's book "The Lost Way: How Two Forgotten Gospels Are Rewriting the Story of Christian Origins." Other than that, there may be one other textbook needed, but that has not been decided yet.

  • Will This Class Be Lecture Based?

    No. The class will be conducted as a research seminar which means we will try to make it fun, dynamic, and engaging.

  • When Will the Course Take Place?

    The course will be run on two days per week (but you only need to come to one of them). It will be offered on Sunday mornings and Tuesdays evenings. Whichever time works best for you will be the one you should come to. Classes will also be recorded and available to watch on the website here in case you miss one.

Pricing

The overall cost of the course is $99, discounted from the regular price of $150. The course is three months long and each individual payment of $33.33 provides 30 days of access. This allows the $99 total price to be flexibly broken into three installments that can be paid over time.