The Apocryphal Jesus

By: The Great Courses, David Brakke

Narrated by: David Brakke

The New Testament gives us 27 canonical texts - gospels, letters, and more - but these works are only a tiny fraction of the many volumes written about the life of Jesus, his family, and the apostles. This alternative body of literature falls under the category of "apocrypha", which means "hidden" or "secret", and it offers fascinating insights into the early Christian world. But these early Christian apocryphal works are more than historical curiosities.

The canonical Bible is one of the most influential books in all of Western history, but you might be surprised to find out how many gaps and contradictions the New Testament contains. Much of what we know about Jesus today actually comes from these apocryphal sources, so The Apocryphal Jesus is your chance to learn the true breadth and depth of the early Christian world. Over the course of 24 revealing lectures, Professor David Brakke of The Ohio State University takes you on a tour of this world and surveys the major apocryphal works that have survived.

From forged letters to newly discovered gospels, early Christian authors wrote reams of literature about Jesus, his family, and the apostles, drawing from an even larger oral tradition. Even though only a tiny portion of apocryphal works survive today, reviewing this literature gives us a host of new angles on well-known figures from the Bible, as well as insights that can't be found anywhere in the New Testament.

Among other topics, you will examine the cult of the Virgin Mary through the Proto-Gospel of James, survey the Gnostic vision presented in the Gospel of Judas, encounter a radically different view of Jesus' teaching in the Gospel of Thomas, gain new insights into early Christian life, and much, much more.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2017 The Great Courses

Chúa Jesus Người là Thiên Chúa đã đến !

Sự thật tối hậu cũng đã được tỏ !
Thật Vinh dự cho ai nghe được sự thật !

Great insight

A lot of incredible information, thoughtfully explained in get detail. Great course with a lot of historical references.

Bucket list.

This course has been on my bucket list. Thank you for this well delivered back story from material world thinkers. My face hurt from smiling... I'm a woman!

things we should know about Christianity

enough with the Sunday School schmooze; tell us what really happened all those years ago. if you like learning about early Christianity, look no further.

Great historical analysis of “hidden” texts

I was a student of early Christianity in college, and I would have greatly benefitted from these lectures. There are no confusing, deep philosophical dives here. It is a straightforward and entertaining set of lectures that explain each of these texts and their relationship with the church and with history.