The beginnings of A Class in Wonders can be followed back once again to the effort between two persons, Helen Schucman and William Thetford, both of whom were distinguished psychologists and researchers. The course's inception occurred in early 1960s when Schucman, who had been a scientific and study psychiatrist at Columbia University's School of Physicians and Surgeons, started to have some internal dictations. She explained these dictations as originating from an inner voice that discovered itself as Jesus Christ. Schucman originally resisted these experiences, but with Thetford's encouragement, she started transcribing the communications she received.

Around an amount of seven decades, Schucman transcribed what would become A Program in Miracles, amounting to three sizes: the Text, the Book for Pupils, and the Information for Teachers. The Text sits out the  ACIM Videos theoretical basis of the program, elaborating on the core ideas and principles. The Workbook for Students includes 365 lessons, one for each time of the season, designed to steer the reader via a daily practice of applying the course's teachings. The Handbook for Teachers provides more advice on how to understand and teach the rules of A Course in Wonders to others.

One of many key styles of A Program in Miracles is the idea of forgiveness. The course shows that correct forgiveness is the main element to internal peace and awakening to one's heavenly nature. In accordance with their teachings, forgiveness isn't only a ethical or moral practice but a elementary shift in perception. It requires allowing move of judgments, grievances, and the perception of failure, and as an alternative, viewing the world and oneself through the lens of enjoy and acceptance. A Program in Wonders stresses that correct forgiveness leads to the acceptance that individuals are all interconnected and that separation from each other is an illusion.

Still another significant facet of A Class in Wonders is their metaphysical foundation. The program presents a dualistic view of reality, distinguishing between the confidence, which presents separation, concern, and illusions, and the Holy Spirit, which symbolizes enjoy, reality, and spiritual guidance. It suggests that the confidence is the source of suffering and struggle, as the Sacred Heart provides a pathway to therapeutic and awakening. The goal of the course is to help people surpass the ego's limited perception and arrange with the Holy Spirit's guidance.