I really want to take a course about Jesus as I am a new Christian and want to learn more and I really like the Gospel of John.
Has anyone taken RELIG ST 3N03 " John's Portrait of Jesus"?
Do you need alot of prior knowledge? I pretty much know nothing of the Bible, but I am learning this summer in Bible studies.
And how many essays are there/ are the midterms and exam multiple choice or essay style?
If it is really hard I don't want to take it as I need to bump up my GPA next year.

Also, other Christian classes I was interested in are:
Relig St 2GG3 "Portraits of Jesus"
2EE3 "Prophets of the Bible"
3B03 "Christ through the centuries"
2VV3 "Bible as Literature" *** I am also VERY interested in this one ( is it like an english class?)
3Y03 "Love in the Western Civilization"
2YY3 " The Bible and Film"

If I remember correctly, Westerholm teaches it. He's a great professor, but does expect you to have prior knowledge. I haven't taken this specific course of his, but I have taken one of his courses on Paul, and the grading was two midterms and a final exam. There was both multiple choice, plus short answers. If you're looking for a class to bring up your GPA, I'd probably stay away from this one.

Out of the courses you've listed, I've done 2GG3, 2VV3, and 2YY3. For someone who doesn't know too much about the Bible, I'd recommend 2VV3 or 2YY3. For both courses, the professors started from the very beginning, explaining everything. They were very well aware that several students wouldn't know anything about the Bible, so they expected no prior knowledge. Plus, the courses are fun. There was one essay for 2YY3, and if I remember correctly, the exams were entirely multiple choice (I took it two years ago, so it might have changed). 2VV3 requires more writing. I think we wrote two shortish papers, and there was a midterm (which I don't remember, but I think there was a multiple choice and a short answer component), and the exam was open book and essay style. Both classes were easy (the professor for 2VV3 said that this course always has the highest average out of all the courses she teaches).

I had the prof who teaches 3Y03 and a friend who took that course, and if you're looking for something religious, I wouldn't take it. I took God, Evil and Reason (I forget the course code), and he said that 3Y03 was organized the same way. There was very little talk of religion in the course, which means you're not expected to have much knowledge in religion, but if you're looking to learn about Christianity you won't get much out of this course. There's lots of reading, two essays, and the final exam was two essay questions.

2GG3 was interesting, but it's pretty tough (I had Runnesson teaching it, I don't know if he's teaching it again this year). Again, I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has little to no prior knowledge.

If you want to know what's required in the courses, I'd recommend you read the course outlines.

Here's the link for 2008/09: http://www.religiousstudies. mcmast...ines-2008-2009
Here's the link for 2009/10: http://www.religiousstudies. mcmast...ines-2009-2010

They might not have all of the course outlines, but hopefully they'll make your choice a bit easier! If you're looking to learn more about Christianity/Jesus from a believers standpoint, I wouldn't take any of those courses. I know of several people who have taken a religious studies course and have left feeling frustrated because some of what they learned was contrary to what they have learned in church. So that's something to keep in mind.

Thank you so much for you help!!
would you also happen to know of any classes that you have taken before that are easy to get a 12 in as an elective. I don't think i can take any more ist year courses so I need to find upper year courses with out prerequisites.

i read the course outline for 2YY3 and it does seem fun. I like the breakdown of the marks. Less pressure to do well on the final
but i have one question, do you watch the movies in a lab or do you have to go out and rent them yourself and watch them on your own time?

i think i have decided on 2vv3 for first term and 2ee3 for 2nd term.
What do you know about 2ee3? there is no course outline for it.
also 3b03 has no outline either, is it easy or hard?
i tend to do better in courses that do not have a heavily weighted final

For 2YY3, you have the option of watching the movies in a tutorial or on your own. Several of the movies we watched were really well known, so most of my friends had copies that I borrowed or I got them at the Hamilton library.

I've never taken 2EE3 and 3B03 or had those professors. If you're considering taking one of them, I'd go with 2EE3 just because third year courses tend to expect students to have a bit more background knowledge.