The Best-Selling Book of All Time: An Introduction to the Bible

Course Overview

The Bible is made up of 66 books and was written by at least 44 authors in 9 countries over 2,000 years. It can feel like a lot to get your head around. But as the best-selling book of all time, the Bible is worth taking some time to become familiar with. By breaking down this epic into accessible chunks, focusing on key narratives and exploring its wider impact, this course enables you to better understand this famous text that continues to shape culture and society today. After setting the scene of the Bible’s significance in Judaism and Christianity, this programme begins by exploring how it was put together, finding answers to questions such as ‘who wrote it?’ and ‘where does it come from?’. The middle lessons walk students through the text’s key narratives, from Adam and Eve, the great flood and Moses parting the Red Sea, to Jesus’ life and the birth of the early Church. Along the way, the course features different poetry, songs, prophecies, story-telling and letter writing. The lesson series ends by taking a closer look at the many different perspectives on and uses of the Bible today, as well as learning about the influence it has had on the arts throughout the centuries, from Shakespeare to Kanye West.