| |
| |
| Preface | |
| |
| |
| Introduction | |
| |
| |
| Christians from a Distant Perspective | |
| |
| |
| Theology and History | |
| |
| |
| Who Was, or Was Not, Christian? | |
| |
| |
| Ways of Understanding Differences between Christians | |
| |
| |
| A Story of Both Centre and Periphery | |
| |
| |
| |
| First-Century Christianity: The Source Debate | |
| |
| |
| A Portfolio of Sources | |
| |
| |
| The New Testament | |
| |
| |
| Fragmented Discussion | |
| |
| |
| The Intracanonists' Dispute Resolved | |
| |
| |
| The Extracanonists' Case Delineated | |
| |
| |
| The Extracanonists' Case Disproved | |
| |
| |
| New Testament Insights on the Christian Movement | |
| |
| |
| |
| First-Generation Christianity | |
| |
| |
| Jesus' Church: A Sect | |
| |
| |
| Christians, the Synagogues and the Temple | |
| |
| |
| Jerusalem Christianity in the First Decade | |
| |
| |
| Simon Magus and His Sect | |
| |
| |
| The Jerusalem Church | |
| |
| |
| Paul and the Antioch Church | |
| |
| |
| The Pauline Churches | |
| |
| |
| |
| Initial Growth, Incipient Persecution | |
| |
| |
| Persecution and Illegality | |
| |
| |
| A Threshold | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Second Christian Generation | |
| |
| |
| Second-Generation Church Order: the Didache | |
| |
| |
| Second-Generation Discipline: Clement of Rome | |
| |
| |
| Second-Generation Prophecy: Hermas | |
| |
| |
| Second-Generation Growth: Alexandria and Egypt | |
| |
| |
| The Second Generation in Jerusalem and the Jewish Churches | |
| |
| |
| Separation between Christianity and Judaism | |
| |
| |
| |
| Second- and Third-Century Christianity: Another Source Debate | |
| |
| |
| Memories and Apologia | |
| |
| |
| Apolgetic and Mission | |
| |
| |
| Apocryphal Stories | |
| |
| |
| Gnostic Writing | |
| |
| |
| Eusebius | |
| |
| |
| |
| Persecution and Anti-Christian Polemic | |
| |
| |
| Pliny and Trajan Hadrian: Deterring Informers | |
| |
| |
| Peregrinus: When Politics Dictated Tolerance | |
| |
| |
| Polycarp: The Crowd Demands a Victim | |
| |
| |
| Intellectual Attacks | |
| |
| |
| Where Persuasion Fails: Anti-Christian Violence | |
| |
| |
| The Decian Persecution | |
| |
| |
| |
| An Enclave: Caesar's Palace | |
| |
| |
| Government Officials | |
| |
| |
| The Second Generation | |
| |
| |
| An Unusual Arrest | |
| |
| |
| Christians: A Persistent Presence in the Palace | |
| |
| |
| Third-Century Purges | |
| |
| |
| The Shape of Things to Come | |
| |
| |
| |
| Gnosticism and Christian Diversity | |
| |
| |
| "False Teachers" in the New Testament | |
| |
| |
| Key Concepts in Gnosticism | |
| |
| |
| Divergent and Convergent Forces | |
| |
| |
| Ignatius of Antioch | |
| |
| |
| Who Was a Gnostic? | |
| |
| |
| Cosmopolitan Theologizing | |
| |
| |
| Sectarianism in the Development of Christianity | |
| |
| |
| The Great Church and Doctrinal Development | |
| |
| |
| A Case Where "No Sock Fell Off": Origen | |
| |
| |
| |
| Women and Christianity | |
| |
| |
| Feminist Readings of the Early Church | |
| |
| |
| Stark's The Rise of Christianity: A Bullish View? | |
| |
| |
| Feminists Adapt the New Consensus | |
| |
| |
| Leadership Given by Women | |
| |
| |
| The Pull of Gravity | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Great Persecution and Constantine | |
| |
| |
| The Calm before the Storm | |
| |
| |
| The Churches and Roman Society | |
| |
| |
| The Crisis of Empire and Anti-Christian Propaganda | |
| |
| |
| The Great Persecution | |
| |
| |
| Constantine's Rise to Power | |
| |
| |
| Constantine's Conversion | |
| |
| |
| Christianity Becomes the Official Religion | |
| |
| |
| Primary-Source Finding List | |
| |
| |
| Bibliography | |
| |
| |
| Index | |