Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix: Narratives of Gospels and Acts by IsraelX via Edx: Fee, Duration, How to Apply

Quick Facts

particular	details
Medium of instructions English	Mode of learning Self study	Mode of Delivery Video and Text Based	Learning efforts 4-5 Hours Per Week

Course overview

Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix online course look through the origins of Christianity from Judaism. It tries to answer various complicated questions and ideas to understand the birth of Christianity from within the Jewish Matrix and various other modern religious movements. The course promises unexpected answers to questions related to the messianic ideas, expectations, how early Christian texts influenced Greek-speaking phases and much more.

Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix by edX is a Humanities course. As it is an introductory or beginner course, you do not need to fulfil any eligibility criterion to join the training. The programme has been curated by Israel X and will be taught by professor Serge Ruzer.

Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix is a 9-week duration course. However, you can complete the syllabus at your convenience. The course uses video lectures, reading material, and a final exam to encourage you to complete it and earn a certificate by paying the fee. You can also join the programme free of cost; but, the access to the course materials will be only for a limited duration.

Course and certificate fees

Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix: Narratives of Gospels and Acts fee structure

Course Name	Amount
Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix (Audit track)	Nil
Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix (Paid verified track)	$ 49

certificate availability

Yes

certificate providing authority

IsraelX

certificate fees

$49

Eligibility criteria

The Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix certification course needs no compulsory prerequisites to join.

What you will learn

Knowledge of religion

After completing the Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix programme, you will learn about:

Recognising the importance of early Christianity in late Second Temple Judaism
Describing the variegated settings and circumstances of the birth of Christianity
Strategies employed to describe messiahship by the Synoptic tradition and the Second Temple Judaism
Roots and metamorphosis of Messiah’s pre-existence in Second Temple Jewish literature in rabbinic sources
Early Christianity's main genres and process that led to the New Testament canonisation
The transition of Jesus-centred traditions from oral Semitic stage to Greek compositions
Recognising the references to ‘the Jews’ in the Fourth Gospel and understanding different explanations regarding the Gospel’s harsh and critical stance in research
Recognising the conflicts within the Jesus movement, including the Gentiles and their obligations to Torah as a difference of opinion in broader Second Temple Judaism
Using the story of Exodus as a reference to understand John’s reworking of Jesus’ miracles using Synoptic traditions into the narrative of signs and wonders

The syllabus

Before You Begin…

About this course

Unit 1: Introduction to course

Gospels and Acts as part of the early Jesus movement’s literature
General introduction to Early Christianity and Second Temple Judaism

Unit 2: Early Christian message and contemporaneous Jewish messianic beliefs

Groups in Second Temple Jewry and their messianic beliefs
Jesus as kingly Messiah
Recommended readings
Land of Israel messianic ideas reflected in the Synoptic narrative
The idea of a heavenly redeemer

Unit 3: Jesus' Messianic biography in conversation with Jewish Scripture

Interpretation of the Torah ascribed to Jesus
Jewish Scriptures and its interpretation in Second Temple Judaism
Recommended readings
Messianic interpretation of the Holy Writ in the Gospels: continuity and innovation

Unit 4: The Kingdom of God as a foundational idea of Jesus' preaching in the Synoptic Gospels and its Jewish setting, Incomplete section

The Kingdom of God as a foundational idea of Jesus’ preaching in the Synoptic Gospels and its Jewish setting
Eschatological scenarios in Second Temple Judaism
Recommended readings

Unit 5: The struggle for self-identity: between the Synoptic tradition and the Gospel of John

The Gospel of John’s polemical character and its use of Ioudaioi ("Jews")
Variety of groups and factions in first-century Jewry
Recommended readings
Jesus and his disciples among various Jewish groups in the Synoptic Gospels

Unit 6: The Gospel of John and Its Special Stance

The Gospel of John vis-a-vis the Synoptic tradition
Moses’ signs and Jesus’ miracles
The Messiah as the bearer of God’s Word (logos) in the Prologue of John
Recommended readings
Moses the Torah giver and Jesus the ultimate bearer of God’s word

Unit 7: Jesus’ trial, death and resurrection as the focal point of the Gospel narrative

The Synoptic narrative of Jesus’ death versus John’s version
Recommended readings
Jesus’ death as a failure of messianic enterprise and solutions offered by nascent Christian tradition
The Last Supper Gospel narrative

Unit 8: The beginnings of the Jesus Movement according to the Book of Acts

Paul as the main protagonist of the second part of Acts
Acts on the eschatological expectation of Jesus’ return and the meaning of the interim period
The Book of Acts as a sequel to the Synoptic narrative
Recommended Readings
Broadening the scope of the movement and increase in the share of non-Jews
Acts on the nascent Jesus movement

Unit 9: Delay in the final redemption and the response of Acts

The renewal of prophecy through the gift of the Spirit as a sign of interim phase leading to the final redemption
Recommended Readings
The success of the mission to the Gentiles as a sign of the interim
Final Exam

Admission details

Initiate your Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix certification programme admission process by visit the official site.
Choose ‘Enroll Now’ and decide between the free route or the paid route.
Pay the fee if you select the paid route. Else, join directly.

Filling the form

If you already have an edX account, you don’t need to fill any application form to join the Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix online course. Else, sign up and join the training. To sign up, you can use your Facebook account or Microsoft account. A Google or Apple account is also acceptable. If you don’t have any of these, you can use your email ID to create an edX account. Additional information needed will be your resident country, your name and a password.

How it helps

You can study the Early Christian Outlook and its Jewish Matrix certification for free and get a unique perspective on Christianity. You can also get a certificate and add it to your skill profiles for career opportunities.