Free courses to understand the Bible, its history and Christian thought. Written lessons, video, audio and PDF, in French, English and Spanish.
ἐκκλησίαekklēsía · The name
Ekklesia comes from the Greek ἐκκλησία, “the assembly of those who are called”. It is the word the New Testament uses for the Church: not a building, but a community that learns together.
Each course is meant to be followed in order, one lesson after another. Everything is free and needs no sign-up.
From ancient Judaism to the Reformation
Why does the Catholic Bible have 73 books, the Protestant Bible 66 and the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible even more? This course traces how Jews and then Christians came to recognise certain writings as authoritative, and how the very idea of a “canon” changed up to the Reformation.
A short history of interpretation
The same verses have been read in very different ways from one era to the next. From the Jewish teachers to the Reformers, by way of Paul, Origen and the medieval monks, this course presents the main ways of interpreting Scripture and what they teach us about reading it today.
Who holds authority in the Church?
Scripture alone, or Scripture and tradition? This debate divided Catholics and Protestants in the sixteenth century and is still alive today. This course follows the question of authority from Israel to the Council of Trent, presenting each side's arguments fairly.
From the apostles to Constantine
How did a small Jewish community become the religion of the Roman Empire? This course follows the apostles' successors, the great controversies of the second century, the first defenders of the faith and the turning point of the fourth century, between persecution and imperial favour.
