Fee for HMNS members: $135
Fee for Rice alumni: $125
Lectures will be held at HMNS

This course includes a guided tour of the current exhibition of the same name at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which includes ancient scrolls, objects and artifacts that tell the fascinating story of two of the world’s most important religions. Shown above is a mirror plaque with menorah and birds, limestone with traces of pigment, Palestine, Ca. 5th century. Photo courtesy of HMNS.


Silver coin from 333 B.C., depicting the face of Alexander the Great. Photo courtesy of HMNS.


Ceramic Ring Oil Lamp, Roman Period. Photo courtesy of HMNS. Don't have info on the coin yet but will try. For now, put Photo courtesy of HMNS.

In the millennia since the life of Jesus of Nazareth, Christianity has developed into a multi-faceted religion. Older branches such as Catholicism, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and Coptic now share the Christian stage with a number of Protestant outgrowths. This diversity makes it easy to forget that Jesus himself was a Jew who lived at a time when many divergent sects of Judaism were being practiced, and that the original Christians were Jews who followed various forms and traditions of the Jewish faith. In this course, local and national experts will examine some early Jewish groups and their belief systems and explore aspects of pre- and early-Christian beliefs, including Jews under Greek and Roman rule and the Essene community at Qumran who left us the Dead Sea Scrolls and the heroic story of the Jewish rebels at Masada. The course will include a guided tour of the current exhibition, “The Birth of Christianity: A Jewish Story,” created especially for the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Course Schedule:

February 23. Tour of the Exhibition. Matthias Henze, PhD, Watt J. and Lilly G. Jackson Associate Professor in Biblical Studies and associate professor of religious studies, Rice University, scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls and guest exhibition curator; Dirk Van Tuerenhout, PhD, curator of anthropology, Houston Museum of Natural Science.

March 2. Hellenism and Ancient Israel. The march of Alexander the Great through what is now modern Israel resulted in major changes in the political landscape. His death and the creation of the Hellenistic kingdoms made these changes more permanent and created far-reaching shifts in the political landscape. Dr. Dirk Van Tuerenhout.

March 9. The Story of Masada. In AD 73, a band of Jewish rebels at Masada committed suicide, bringing to a close the first revolt against Rome (to be discussed in March 23 lecture). The history and archaeology of Masada, including Herod’s palaces atop the mountain and the controversies surrounding Josephus’ report of the mass suicide. Jodi Magness, PhD, senior endowed chair in religious studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, archaeologist and author of “The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

March 23. Rebellions against Rome. The First Jewish Revolt, which lasted from AD 66 to 73, will be examined against the backdrop of several other revolts against the Roman Empire. Michael Maas, PhD, professor of history and classical studies specializing in Roman imperial history, Rice University.

March 30. What the Dead Sea Scrolls Tell Us about the Birth of Christianity. Although the scrolls never mention Jesus or other Christian figures by name, they provide a wealth of information about the varieties of Judaism at the time of Jesus and the birth of Christianity. Dr. Matthias Henze.

April 6. The Birth of Christianity. How Christianity was born out of the Jewish teachings of Jesus and his brother James at a time of social and political upheaval in ancient Palestine. April DeConick, PhD, Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies, Rice University.

Additional keywords: personal development, civilization, geography, historic, history, philosophy, religion, religious, spiritual, theology

IMPORTANT! All Continuing Studies students are now required to display a hang tag when parked on campus. See the parking page for details >

Course Co-Sponsors