Attempting to understand religion in all its forms has forever been a source of frustration. In this course, Professor F.E. Peters defines Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as three faith communities of believers, each with its own ideology, history, traditions, and members—past and present. Professor Peters’ extensive studies of these three monotheistic religious communities allow him to offer a comprehensive series of lectures beginning with Creation and ending with the Final Judgment. The history proper of the three communities of Jews, Christians, and Muslims begins with God’s Covenant with Abraham. It continues with the birth, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. When Saul, later called Paul, begins accepting Gentiles into the community of Jesus, the Christians are formed as a separation from the main body of the Jewish community. Once Christianity was identified as a new religion, it was no longer protected by the same laws that were extended to the Jews. Until the beginning of the fourth century, Christians were persecuted by suspicious and intolerant Romans. Force and violence are again linked with religion when Muhammad, the Muslim prophet, struck out militarily against those who rejected his claims to prophethood. This course examines the similarities and differences between each community and traces their evolutions through history. In this course, Professor Peters leads listeners through a comprehensive study of the origins, characteristics, and primary texts of each of these fundamentally monotheistic religious communities. As Peters concludes, only by understanding their similarities and differences can we hope to make sense of the politics of religion which continue to fuel conflicts throughout the world.
F.E. Peters is the award-winning author of The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition and Jerusalem and Mecca: The Typology of the Holy City in the Near East. He has two degrees in Classical Languages as well as a Ph.L. in Philosophy from St. Louis University and a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Princeton. He teaches in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at New York University.
Lecture 1 “In the Beginning …”
Lecture 2 The Israelite Experience
Lecture 3 From Israelite to Jew
Lecture 4 Jesus of Nazareth: Teacher, Messiah, Redeemer
Lecture 5 The Spread of Christianity
Lecture 6 Muhammad, Prophet of Mecca
Lecture 7 Muhammad, Lord of Medina
Lecture 8 The”People of the Book”: Monotheists and Their Revelations
Lecture 9 Tradition and Law
Lecture 10 Defining the Community
Lecture 11 Governing the Community
Lecture 12 Defending the Community
Lecture 13 Worshiping God
Lecture 14 Reaching for God