Home
About Us Membership Course Catalog

The Resurrection

A Guided Reading

  

with Dr. Travis Proctor 

   

The Real Easter, Before the Eggs. Re-discover the earliest accounts of Jesus's resurrection, learning what we can know historically about the events that launched a world religion.

 

  • Dates: Thursdays, April 9th - May 28th (The First day: 16th)
  • Time: 1:30-2:30pm ET

The Messiah was dead. His disciples scattered. By all appearances, the movement of Jesus of Nazareth was over.

And then, within a few years, multiple accounts begin to appear: letters, gospels, and later texts...all claiming, in different ways, that Jesus had been raised from the dead.

But they don’t all tell the same story.

Who sees Jesus first? What do they see? Is there an empty tomb—or not? Are the disciples convinced…or confused? The more closely you read, the more the details begin to shift.

selected

  •  
    Featuring:
  • ✔ Seven 60-Minute Sessions
  • ✔ Taped Live and Instantly Available
  • ✔ Community Discussion
  • ✔ Transcripts

In this guided reading from The Religion Department, you’ll read early Resurrection accounts closely in a relaxed, collaborative setting: Paul’s letters, the Gospel of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, along with later texts like the Gospel of Peter. Together, we’ll ask questions like:

  • Why did some followers of Jesus claim that Jesus had been "resurrected"? What did they discover or see?
  • What did the earliest Christians actually mean when they said “resurrection”—and is it what we think it is?
  • Who was the first disciple to see Jesus? Why were some disciples so doubtful about what they were seeing?
  • Where do we get the origins of the "empty tomb" tradition? Did Jesus's followers expect him to stay in the tomb?
  • Why do our earliest accounts have both similarities and differences when it comes to the resurrection? Who changed what?
  • What about books that got left out of the Bible? Do they have anything to say about the resurrection?

 You'll also have the chance to ask your own questions through discussion forums and other activities.

All readings will be provided from open access sources. Believers, skeptics, and everyone in between are welcome!

What You’ll Learn

Course Details

Experience Level

No prior background required

Learning Pace

Comfortable

Interaction

Attend live or participate in the comments

Your Instructor

Dr. Andrew Henry

Dr. Travis W. Proctor

Travis W. Proctor is a scholar and public educator of the bible and early Christianity. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies (with honors) from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he studied under Bart D. Ehrman and specialized in early Christianity and ancient Mediterranean religions. He has also received training at Washington University in St. Louis and Oxford University. He is currently Associate Professor of Religion at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Dr. Proctor's teaching and research draw from religious studies, classics, and environmental history. His first book, Demonic Bodies and the Dark Ecologies of Early Christian Culture (Oxford University Press), explored how early Christian understandings of the "bodies" of demons had major ramifications for early Christian cultures and environments. 

His work has appeared in academic journals such as the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Journal of Early Christian Studies, Harvard Theological Review, and the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, as well as public venues including Bible Odyssey, Religion for Breakfast, Religion Dispatches, The Bart Ehrman Blog, and the “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” podcast. He has received fellowships and prizes from the Society of Biblical Literature, North American Patristics Society, the Louisville Institute, and the National Humanities Center, among others, and has given invited public lectures at the University of Chicago, Ohio State University, and Duke University. To learn more about his work, request an interview, or schedule an appearance, visit www.traviswproctor.com.

Join Now

Your Instructor

Dr. Andrew Henry

Dr. Travis W. Proctor

Travis W. Proctor is a scholar and public educator of the bible and early Christianity. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies (with honors) from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he studied under Bart D. Ehrman and specialized in early Christianity and ancient Mediterranean religions. He has also received training at Washington University in St. Louis and Oxford University. He is currently Associate Professor of Religion at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Dr. Proctor's teaching and research draw from religious studies, classics, and environmental history. His first book, Demonic Bodies and the Dark Ecologies of Early Christian Culture (Oxford University Press), explored how early Christian understandings of the "bodies" of demons had major ramifications for early Christian cultures and environments. 

His work has appeared in academic journals such as the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Journal of Early Christian Studies, Harvard Theological Review, and the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, as well as public venues including Bible Odyssey, Religion for Breakfast, Religion Dispatches, The Bart Ehrman Blog, and the “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” podcast. He has received fellowships and prizes from the Society of Biblical Literature, North American Patristics Society, the Louisville Institute, and the National Humanities Center, among others, and has given invited public lectures at the University of Chicago, Ohio State University, and Duke University. To learn more about his work, request an interview, or schedule an appearance, visit www.traviswproctor.com.

Register Now

Questions

Ways to Join

Tuition

$40

  • Guided Reading: The Resurrection
  • Live & Lifetime Access 
Join Now

Annual Membership

$99

  • All Guest Lectures

  • All Guided Readings
  • 50% Off Seminars
Join Now

Already a Member?

Login Here

A Guided reading brought to you by Religion for Breakfast

From Andrew Henry's 1M+ subscriber YouTube channel about the academic study of religion, the Religion Department connects world experts to a global learning community. Our classes are designed to accommodate multiple learning styles and schedules.

Join Our Email List

Stay in the loop about upcoming lectures and department events

Unsubscribe at any time.

Need Help?

Get in Touch