Ancient Christian texts for modern healing

Seeking health and wholeness is being human, and the wisdom from antiquity regarding health offers immeasurable value and a firm basis. This course opens the pages of mostly forgotten books written by the earliest followers of Jesus. Although we discuss why these ancient texts were not included in the Bible and how they were re-discovered, our main interest for this course lies in the healing messages they contain.

The more we ponder their meaning, the more we find resonance in Biblical teachings as well. Students of this course do not need to know the Bible to understand and appreciate the healing messages we will explore in the extra-biblical books. But those who do know the Bible or have faith in it will discover how these more recently discovered texts add dimension to the whole picture of the early years of Jesus followers.

Since this is an introductory course, I presume you know little or nothing about the lost and forgotten books, gospels, letters, and texts written about a hundred years after Jesus. Some of them are controversial, some inspiring, and some quite confusing to modern readers. But I will introduce you to the ones we'll use in the course - how to find them, how to read them, and how to understand their basic messages.

Who should or shouldn't take this course. If you're interested in expanding your ideas about healing…If you're a scholar of religion without specific training in extra-canonical texts…If you want to alleviate suffering in the world or deal with tragedies and human sorrows…If you're curious about what was going on during and after the New Testament time…If you like challenging yourself with big philosophical and religious ideas…If you are seeking deep answers to religious questions…If you have had some kind of uplifting, inspiring experience with a sacred text…Then you definitely want to get going with this course. On the other hand, if you have already studied the Coptic language and read Nag Hammadi literature…If you are seeking the full interpretation of Nag Hammadi texts… If you want to know all the ancient texts that touch on the subject of healing…It's better to skip this course and wait for my next courses.