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Welcome to Christianity
Welcome to Christianity.
Nearly a third of the world’s people call themselves Christians. They include Orthodox monks on Mount Athos, Catholic grandmothers in Manila, Pentecostal congregations in Lagos and São Paulo, Black Baptist churches in Mississippi, Coptic families in Cairo, and Quaker meetings that worship in silence. Many people you serve as a minister will be Christian, or will have been raised Christian.
This course traces Christianity from its roots among the Jewish followers of Jesus of Nazareth to its place today as a global faith whose center has shifted to Africa, Latin America, and Asia. You will study its scriptures, its history, its core beliefs, its great branches, its worship, and its ethics. Throughout, we describe each tradition as its own members would, and we look honestly at how Christianity has treated women, both the women who shaped it and the ways it has excluded and harmed them.
How This Course Works
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite | None. Titles and degrees begin with ordination through the Ordination Orientation. |
| Pace | Self-paced. Most students finish in four to six weeks, studying about four to five hours a week. There are no deadlines. |
| Structure | Eight modules. Each module has a lesson, a reading assignment, and a ten-question quiz. |
| Book report | Read one of the books offered, pass its ten-question quiz, and write a one-paragraph summary, after Module 8. |
| Final exam | Fifteen multiple-choice questions and one essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words, taken after Module 8. |
| Credit | 3 credit hours toward further titles and degrees. |
Grading
| Part | To pass |
|---|---|
| Module quizzes (8) | Pass each with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report quiz (10 questions) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report summary (one paragraph) | Approved by the school |
| Final exam, Part 1 (multiple choice) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Final exam, Part 2 (one essay, 1,500 to 2,000 words) | Approved by the school |
Required texts
- The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (or any translation you prefer)
- Christianity: A Very Short Introduction, Linda Woodhead
- Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman
- The Misunderstood Jew, Amy-Jill Levine
Many of these books are available from public libraries, used bookstores, and as ebooks.
What you will study
Module 1: Jesus of Nazareth and His World Module 2: The Bible Module 3: The Early Church Module 4: Core Beliefs Module 5: The Great Branches Module 6: Worship, Prayer, and the Christian Year Module 7: A Global Faith Module 8: Women, Ethics, and Christianity Today
Book report choices
Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman; The Misunderstood Jew, Amy-Jill Levine
Academic honesty
All written work must be your own. You may quote and discuss the course readings and other sources, but you must say where the words and ideas came from. Submitting work written by someone else, including work generated entirely by AI tools, is not permitted.