F4D. The History of Jesus and Early Christianity
History & World Affairs | Registration opens 8/27/2025 9:00 AM
This class will study the historical background of Jesus and early Christianity. It will not be a Christian theology class. We will look at primary source material as well as research done by historians of religion, including Elaine Pagels (author of Miracles and Wonder and The Gnostic Gospels) and James Carroll (author of Constantine’s Sword).
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Steven Bassin
Presenter
Steven Bassin (LLI) is currently writing a mystery novel in addition to teaching. He is a retired trial attorney and a retired member of the Director's Guild of America. He has taught courses in literature and history at Bard LLI and Vassar LLI. He has also taught at The New School and The School of Visual Arts. His specialty is mystery fiction, and he has taught previous courses on Sherlock Holmes, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and others.
Robert Beaury
Presenter
Robert Beaury, MS, (LLI) is a retired high school social studies teacher and college adjunct. He earned a BA in history and political science from Hunter College and an MS in education from Sage Graduate School. He has presented courses at LLI in history and government since 2019.