Historical Jesus
Overview
This subject provides an introduction to the sources, methods and conclusions of historical Jesus research, with a view to equipping us to better engage with contemporary society around those questions.
Please visit the timetable by clicking here for current information on subject availability.
Subject Details
| Mode |
Online |
On-campus |
| Workload |
One semester, 12 credit points |
One semester, 12 credit points |
| Status |
Elective |
Elective |
| Subject Code |
NT049 |
NT049 |
| Prerequisites |
None |
None |
| Teacher |
John Dickson |
John Dickson |
Content
- Who really was Jesus?
- Can the New Testament sources about Jesus be trusted?
This subject introduces the sources, methods, and conclusions of historical Jesus research, with a view to equipping us to better engage with contemporary society around these questions. We’ll be learning about historical method and applying some of the historical-method approaches to aspects of Jesus’s life for which we have historical evidence.
This is a subject in which we consider the historicity of Jesus. It differs from other subjects you might take at Ridley; while it refers to biblical texts, particularly the Gospels, it approaches these primarily as historical evidence rather than looking to exegete them or read them devotionally.
While this subject does mount a case for the historicity of Jesus, it is also differs from Apologetics, since the primary intent here is not apologetic but to learn more about the historicity of Jesus. If you are interested in apologetics, PE007 Christian Apologetics is available as an elective and includes teaching from Scott Harrower and John Dickson.
Study Expectations
In this subject, you can expect to be guided through a variety of weekly learning activities which are designed to develop your understanding of and skills in the themes and passages related to the syllabus. For online students, these usually include watching videos, reading, completing set learning tasks and contributing to online seminars and interacting with your peers. Students should allow 10 hours of study time per week for this intermediate subject.
