Events

December 1, 2021

7:30 – 9:00 pm ET

Lecture Four: No Christians in the First Two Centuries

Join Westar Scholars Shirley Paulson and Brandon Scott for this lecture based on After Jesus Before Christianity.

This lecture addresses the fact that there were no Christians in the first two centuries after Jesus. How do you get your mind around the lack of the words “Christian” or Christianity” in almost all of writings of the first two centuries? How do we re-thinks those very few instances when “Christian,” or what looks like Christian, appears? What do the few Greek and Latin words traditionally translated as “Christian” really mean? Finally—and crucially—this lecture examines the emerging words of the first two centuries that were used instead of “Christian.”

Chapter 2 is the primary concern of this lecture, but almost every other chapter ends up helping get beyond the words “Christian” and “Christianity” into the wild and diverse experiences of the many different communities and movements.

$15.00

December 8, 2021

7:30 – 9:00 pm ET

Lecture Five: The Centrality of Israel for the Jesus Movements of the First Two Centuries

Join Westar Scholars Perry Kea and Robert Miller for this lecture based on After Jesus Before Christianity.

As the words “Christian” and “Christianity” fade in the emerging realities of this book, this lecture highlights the central identity of the people of Israel for early Jesus movements. It shows how the practice and meaning of the people of Israel lay at the heart of the many different Anointed groups, Wisdom circles, and Christ communities rising from the Jesus movements.

This lecture will unfold the breadth of the people of Israel throughout the Mediterranean and the full-blooded way Jesus as both an historical person and mythical reality embodied the vitality of the people of Israel for so many Jesus groups. In addition, this lecture shows how nations dominated under Rome authority undertook a spiritual pilgrimage with Jesus toward the people of Israel.

Chapter 9 guides this lecture about the depth of the meaning the people of Israel held for all these different groups and movements, but beyond chapter nine, the whole book shows how the people of Israel provide the major traditions and creativity for the first two hundred years of Jesus movements.

$15.00

December 15, 2021

7:30 – 9:00 pm ET

Lecture Six: Before the New Testament

Join Westar Scholars Deborah Saxon and Stephen J. Patterson for this lecture based on After Jesus Before Christianity.

Stating clearly that there was no such thing as a New Testament in the first two hundred years of Jesus movements, this lecture reclaims how these many groups were imbedded in oral culture. The lecture shows how the writings of the Anointed clubs, the Wisdom circles, and various Jesus groups were not books but complicated combinations of memorials, songs, bathing liturgies, and meals with lively discussions. Getting beyond the idea of books and back into oral culture is central when understanding the lives and the struggles of the peoples of early Jesus movements.

Chapter 19 leads the way from the myth of the Bibles back into portraits of lively communities and oral practice.

$15.00