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Christianity has never been just one set of practices and beliefs. The very earliest traces of Christian thought reflect disagreements over what it means to be a Christian. From the beginning, it seems, Christianity has been a site for contests over belief, behavior, and belonging. This course will survey the earliest and most significant controversies in the first five centuries of Christianity with a special focus on the beliefs, practices, and groups that do not represent subsequent majorities. These so-called “heretical” thinkers (as well as their opponents) will be studied as products of their historical, social, and ideological contexts.