Did the ancient Jews of Jesus' time always believe in a single, all-powerful God? How did breaking away from their Jewish roots make Christians more vulnerable in the Roman world? What were the origins of what we now consider the distinctively Christian liturgical practices of baptism and the Eucharist?

As these 24 lectures show, the answers are quite surprising. Professor Ehrman takes you back to Christianity's first three centuries to explain its transition from the religion of Jesus to a religion about Jesus. He introduces you to lost Christianities and their sacred writings. And he shows how many of those writings were originally proscribed or destroyed, only to be rediscovered in modern times. You'll learn how a single group from among many won the struggle for dominance, which allowed it to establish the beliefs central to the faith, rewrite the history of Christianity's internal conflicts, and produce a canon of sacred texts (the New Testament) that supported its own views. You'll also examine Christianity from several directions, including the faith's beginnings, Jewish-Christian relations, hostility to the Christian mission, and internal struggles within the faith. These lectures are an engaging experience that will increase your understanding of Christianity today. They offer you a scholar's perspective on the origins of what Professor Ehrman describes as the most important institution in Western civilization.

This classic Great Course has been digitally remastered to enhance the visual presentation.