In a first for the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX), Drs John Dickson and Greg Clarke will teach up to half of Macquarie University’s new Master of Arts in Early Christian and Jewish Studies.
The pair " who are co-founders of CPX " have been invited by Macquarie's Ancient History department to teach two weekly seminars of the course, which includes subject areas such as the historical figure of Jesus, literary and historical approaches to the Old and New Testaments, the expansion of the early church, and the origins and texts of the major world religions.
"It gives us a chance to discuss some of the background to Christianity in a public place, that is, a postgraduate course of a mainstream university, which is somewhere we'd really like to be," Dr Clarke says.
Dr Dickson(pictured right) will teach weekly seminars on the early history of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam as well as the Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts of the New Testament. He will also give detailed lectures on the life of Jesus.
Dr Clarke's weekly seminars will centre on the uses of the Old Testament and New Testament in literature. Both will also supervise minor theses for the Masters course in their fields of interest.
“Macquarie University’s Ancient History Department is world class and is internationally renowned for its work on the origins of Christianity," Dr Dickson says.
"It is a great privilege to be invited to teach in this exciting one-year Masters course in an area I am so passionate about. I am sure the program will be of enormous benefit to believers and the curious alike.”
The degree is also an exciting move forward for CPX, which opened in March.
"It's a chance for us to further our academic work in one of the few Australian university contexts where Christianity is considered seriously as part of the curriculum," Dr Clarke says.
Why Christ matters to Ancient History
Early Christian and Jewish history also has much to offer those interested in Ancient History in general, Dr Clarke(pictured right) continues.
"No one would deny that the Christian religion has had a massive impact on the world at large over the last 2000 years," he says.
"One of the stunning facts about Christianity is that it spread from very humble origins to become a majority world religion, so this course helps you to understand how that started."
The one-year course aims to provide students with a "solid grounding in the history and literature of the first Christians and their Jewish neighbours" and to help students to understand how Christian and Jewish history fits into the broader context of the Roman Empire.
"We hope it has really broad appeal to teachers of ancient history and religion, as well as ministers and people of faith or just people who are inquisitive," Dr Clarke says.
Other units of the course will be taught by Professor Alanna Nobbs, Dr Chris Forbes, and Associate Professor Paul McKechnie, and will centre on subjects such as early Christian and Byzantine art and archaeology; Pagans, Jews and Christians; and ancient languages of the Bible and early Christianity.
