Lectures on Canon and Texts

In this lecture, we look at the differences between Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Bibles. We consider why Bibles vary within the major branches of Christianity by looking at the history of biblical translation as well as the languages, cultural contests, and other movements shaping the canon. We’ll also query the value of the debated books from the perspectives of each tradition.

This lecture tells the story of the martyrs we meet in the books of the Maccabees. We explore their connection to Hanukkah, the importance of the martyrs in early Christianity, and the role of women in the accounts. In this lecture, we get a glimpse of the world that shaped Jesus and his followers and become familiar with some intertestamental, deuterocanonical texts.

Though the New Testament canon contains only 27 books, the church treasured many other writings. These texts shaped and influenced the early church and thus Christianity today. This lecture introduces listeners to some of the texts that didn’t make it into the canon but were considered acceptable for doctrine and life.

The gospels tell us little about Jesus’ childhood, assuming we know what it would have been like. Looking at some of the extracanonical stories about Jesus as a child, we hear how some people closer to Jesus’ day imagined his childhood (and discover why those stories aren’t part of the New Testament). We also explore childhood in the first century, including toys, activities, and education.

Influential Christian Texts lectures examine an important text for ancient Christians. Each lecture provides a summary of the text with sample passages and addresses the basics of each text (who, what, when, where,. why). The lecture also explains the text's significance for ancient Christians and posits whether we, too, might find much to learn from these texts of Christian history. If you are interested in a text not listed below, contact me for more information.

An Influential Christian Texts lecture. The Life of Antony was a best-seller in its day. It inspired, challenged, and provoked men and women to follow Antony's example of utter devotion to Christ. In this account of the most famous of the desert saints, we hear about Antony's difficulty in escaping the world and the way in which the desert brings people face-to-face with their need for God.

An Influential Christian Texts lecture. One of my personal favorites, The Life of Macrina is Gregory of Nyssa's account of his sister, Macrina. From her birth to her death, Macrina's radical commitment to Christ, her passion for spiritual disciplines, and her close connection with her family make evident why Macrina became a hero and role model to so many.

An Influential Christian Texts lecture. Through funeral orations on his brother, sister, and father, Gregory of Nazianzus gives us a glimpse into the family life of a prominent Christian family of the fourth century. The orations reveal models of piety as Nazianzus paints his family members as heroic (almost-)martyrs. The orations also underscore many practical challenges faced by people in that time period, particularly those who tried to figure out how to follow Jesus as they sought also to fulfill societal expectations placed on their lives.

There are many other influential Christian texts. My familiarity tends toward texts about women, texts by the Greek fathers (especially the Cappadocians), and texts related to the ascetic movement, marriage, and virginity. If you have a particular text, topic, or era that you'd like to learn more about, I am happy to discuss with you whether I am able to lecture on that subject.

This lecture provides an overview of the Deuterocanon, or Apocrypha. After a short summary of each book, we select a few passages to examine in more detail. We look at the ways the books are similar and dissimilar to more familiar Old Testament texts and consider what these texts can teach us regardless of our beliefs about their canonicity.

The New Testament canon as we read it today didn’t become “final” until the late 4th century. In this lecture, we ask and answer questions such as who determined what made it into the canon and what criteria they used. We examine what books were most controversial (and why).

Though the New Testament canon contains only 27 books, other works regarding Jesus and his earliest followers existed. This lecture introduces listeners to some of the texts that didn’t make it into the canon due to their classification as “heretical.” We’ll explore why the texts were rejected, who rejected them (and when), and what we might learn from these texts about early Christianity.

This lecture explores the Christmas story as portrayed in the New Testament as well as in The Proto-Evangelium of James, an early and influential text. We'll see why donkeys show up in our Christmas pageants and recognize that our retellings of the Christmas story are tied to texts we might not even read.

An Influential Christian Texts lecture.

This lecture looks at The Acts of Paul and Thecla, an account of Paul's ministry and, more significant, of the conversion, ministry, and adventures of Thecla. This devout, beautiful, controversial woman became a role model and hero for numerous Christians. Her story - humorous, poignant, and spirited - offers a glimpse into the radical nature of becoming a follower of Jesus in a world that has its own expectations for women.

An Influential Christian Texts lecture. One of the only accounts written by a woman, The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity gives an account of the sacrifices of the martyrs, their struggles, and the way God encouraged them in their battle. Its imagery reminds us of the very different world in which the early Christians lived even as the account of the women's bravery challenges us to be bold and willing to die for Christ.

An Influential Christian Texts lecture. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers are one of the texts that arose out of the desert movements from the fourth century and onward. This collection of pithy sayings, short stories, and Jesus-like enigmatic parables gives us a glimpse into life in the desert and into the spiritual growth, struggles, and lessons of the desert saints.

An Influential Christian Texts lecture. Gregory of Nyssa;'s treatise On Virginity offers its readers a window into the early church's obsession with virginity. Not only does the text underscore the importance and value of virginity as well as the negatives of marriage, but it also reveals how early Christians read the Bible and found in it justification for their beliefs about virginity, marriage, and celibacy.

The canon of the Old and New Testaments as well as the various other texts that have shaped Christianity span more than the above lecture ideas. If you have a specific group, event, text, or topic in mind, contact me to discover how we might work together to create a lecture tailored to your needs.