CHAPTERS 2-30 END WITH KEY TERMS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING. ; 1. WHAT IS THE NEW TESTAMENT? THE EARLY CHRISTIANS AND THEIR LITERATURE ; The Diversity of Early Christianity ; The New Testament Canon of Scripture ; Implications for Our Study ; Excursus: Some Additional Reflections: The Historian and the Believer ; 2. DO WE HAVE THE ORIGINAL NEW TESTAMENT? ; Publishing Books: Now and Then ; How Can We Know if We Have an Ancient Author's Actual Words? ; What Manuscripts of the New Testament Do We Have? The Good News and Bad News ; A Concrete Example ; Accidental Mistakes ; Intentional Errors ; Criteria for Establishing the Text ; 3. THE WORLD OF EARLY CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS ; The Problem of Beginnings ; One Remarkable Life ; The Environment of the New Testament: Religions in the Greco-Roman World ; 4. THE JEWISH CONTEXT OF JESUS AND HIS FOLLOWERS ; Judaism as a Greco-Roman Religion ; Political Crises in Palestine and Their Ramifications ; The Formation of Jewish Sects ; 5. THE TRADITIONS OF JESUS IN THEIR GRECO-ROMAN CONTEXT ; Oral Traditions behind the Gospels ; Excursus: Some Additional Reflections: The Authors of the Gospels ; 6. THE CHRISTIAN GOSPELS: A LITERARY AND HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION ; The Question of Genre ; Biography as a Greco-Roman Genre ; The Gospels as Ancient Biographies ; 7. JESUS, THE SUFFERING SON OF GOD: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK ; The Beginning of the Gospel: Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God Who Fulfills Scripture ; Jesus the Authoritative Son of God ; Jesus the Opposed Son of God ; Jesus the Misunderstood Son of God ; Jesus the Acknowledged Son of God ; Jesus the Suffering Son of God ; Jesus the Crucified Son of God ; Jesus the Vindicated Son of God ; Conclusion: Mark and His Readers ; 8. THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR INTERPRETATION ; Methods for Studying the Gospels ; The Synoptic Problem ; The Methodological Significance of the Four-Source Hypothesis ; 9. JESUS, THE JEWISH MESSIAH: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW ; The Importance of Beginnings: Jesus the Jewish Messiah in Fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures ; Jesus and His Forerunner from Matthew's Perspective ; The Portrayal of Jesus in Matthew: The Sermon on the Mount as a Springboard ; Jesus and the Jewish Cultic Practices Prescribed by the Law ; Jesus Rejected by the Jewish Leaders ; Matthew and His Readers ; 10. JESUS, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE ; The Comparative Method and the Gospel of Luke ; A Comparative Overview of the Gospel ; The Preface to Luke's Gospel ; Luke's Birth Narrative in Comparative Perspective ; From Jew to Gentile: Luke's Portrayal of Jesus the Rejected Prophet ; Luke's Distinctive Emphases throughout His Gospel ; Conclusion: Luke in Comparative Perspective ; 11. LUKE'S SECOND VOLUME: THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES ; The Genre of Acts and Its Significance ; The Thematic Approach to Acts ; From Gospel to Acts: The Opening Transition ; Themes in the Speeches in Acts ; Excursus: The Author of Luke-Acts and His Audience ; Conclusion: The Author and His Themes in Context ; 12. JESUS, THE MAN SENT FROM HEAVEN: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN ; The Gospel of John from a Literary-Historical Perspective ; The Gospel of John from a Thematic Perspective ; The Gospel of John from a Comparative Perspective ; The Gospel of John from a Redactional Perspective ; The Socio-Historical Method ; The Gospel of John from a Socio-Historical Perspective ; The Author of the Fourth Gospel ; 13. FROM JOHN'S JESUS TO THE GNOSTIC CHRIST: THE JOHANNINE EPISTLES AND BEYOND ; The Questions of Genre and Author ; The New Testament Epistolary Literature and the Contextual Method ; The Johannine Epistles from a Contextual Perspective ; Reflections on the Contextual Method ; Beyond the Johannine Community: The Rise of Christian Gnosticism ; Gnostics and the Johannine Community ; 14. JESUS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES: OTHER GOSPELS IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY ; Narrative Gospels ; Sayings Gospels ; Infancy Gospels ; Passion Gospels ; Conclusion: The Other Gospels ; 15. THE HISTORICAL JESUS: SOURCES, PROBLEMS, AND METHODS ; Problems with Sources ; Non-Christian Sources ; Christian Sources ; Using Our Sources: Some of the Basic Rules of Thumb ; Specific Criteria and Their Rationale ; Conclusion: Reconstructing the Life of Jesus ; 16. EXCURSUS: THE HISTORIAN AND THE PROBLEM OF MIRACLE ; Miracles in the Modern World and in Antiquity ; The Historian and Historical Method ; 17. JESUS IN CONTEXT ; Popular Modes of Resistance to Oppression ; An Ideology of Resistance ; Jesus in His Apocalyptic Context ; 18. JESUS, THE APOCALYPTIC PROPHET ; The Apocalyptic Deeds of Jesus ; The Apocalyptic Teachings of Jesus ; The Apocalyptic Death of Jesus ; 19. FROM JESUS TO THE GOSPELS ; The Beginning of Christianity ; Jesus' Resurrection from an Apocalyptic Perspective ; Jesus' Death, according to the Scriptures ; The Emergence of Different Understandings of Jesus ; 20. PAUL THE APOSTLE: THE MAN AND HIS MISSION ; The Study of Paul: Methodological Difficulties ; The Life of Paul ; 21. PAUL AND HIS APOSTOLIC MISSION: 1 THESSALONIANS AS A TEST CASE ; The Founding of the Church in Thessalonica ; The Beginnings of the Thessalonian Church: A Socio-Historical Perspective ; The Church at Thessalonica after Paul's Departure ; Conclusion: Paul the Apostle ; 22. PAUL AND THE CRISES OF HIS CHURCHES: 1 AND 2 CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, PHILIPPIANS, AND PHILEMON ; 1 Corinthians ; 2 Corinthians ; Galatians ; Philippians ; Philemon ; 23. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PAUL: THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS ; The Occasion and Purpose of the Letter ; The Theme of the Epistle ; Pauline Models for Salvation ; The Flow of Paul's Argument ; Conclusion: Paul and the Romans ; 24. DOES THE TRADITION MISCARRY? PAUL IN RELATION TO JESUS, JAMES, THECLA, AND THEUDAS ; Paul in Relation to What Came Before ; Paul in Relation to What Came After ; Conclusion: Pauline Christianities ; 25. IN THE WAKE OF THE APOSTLE: THE DEUTERO-PAULINE AND PASTORAL EPISTLES ; Pseudonymity in the Ancient World ; The Deutero-Pauline Epistles ; The Pastoral Epistles ; The Historical Situation and Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles ; Conclusion: The Post-Pauline Pastoral Epistles ; 26. FROM PAUL'S FEMALE COLLEAGUES TO THE PASTOR'S INTIMIDATED WOMEN: THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY ; Women in Paul's Churches ; Women Associated with Jesus ; Paul's Understanding of Women in the Church ; Women in the Aftermath of Paul ; Ancient Ideologies of Gender ; Gender Ideology and the Pauline Churches ; 27. CHRISTIANS AND JEWS: HEBREWS, BARNABAS, AND LATER ANTI-JEWISH LITERATURE ; Early Christian Self-Definition ; Continuity and Superiority: The Epistle to the Hebrews ; Discontinuity and Supremacy: The Epistle of Barnabas ; Conclusion: The Rise of Christian Anti-Judaism ; 28. CHRISTIANS AND PAGANS: 1 PETER, THE LETTERS OF IGNATIUS, THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP, AND LATER APOLOGETIC LITERATURE ; The Persecution of the Early Christians ; Christians in a Hostile World: The Letter of 1 Peter ; Christians Sentenced to Death: The Letters of Ignatius ; Christians before the Tribunal: The Martyrdom of Polycarp ; Christians on the Defensive: The Later Apologetic Literature ; 29. CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIANS: JAMES, THE DIDACHE, POLYCARP, 1 CLEMENT, JUDE, AND 2 PETER ; The Epistle of James ; The Didache ; Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians ; Jude ; 2 Peter ; Conclusion: Conflicts within the Early Christian Communities ; 30. CHRISTIANS AND THE COSMOS: THE REVELATION OF JOHN, THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS, AND THE APOCALYPSE OF PETER ; Introduction: The End of the World and the Revelation of John ; The Content and Structure of the Book of Revelation ; The Book of Revelation from a Historical Perspective ; Apocalyptic Worldviews and Apocalypse Genre ; The Revelation of John in Historical Context ; The Shepherd of Hermas ; The Apocalypse of Peter ; Glossary of Terms ; Index ; BOXES ; CHAPTER 1. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 1.1 The Canon of Scripture ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 1.2 The Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 1.3 The Common Era and Before the Common Era ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 1.4 The Layout of the New Testament ; At a Glance: Box 1.5 The New Testament Canon ; CHAPTER 2. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 2.1 30,000 Variant Readings?! ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 2.2 The Abrupt Ending of the Gospel of Mark ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 2.3 Citing Chapter and Verse ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 2.4 Jesus and the Woman Taken in Adultery ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 2.5 Is the Doctrine of the Trinity Explicitly Taught in the New Testament? ; At a Glance: Box 2.6 The Text of the New Testament ; CHAPTER 3. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 3.1 Pagan and Gentile ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 3.2 The Greco-Roman World ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 3.3 The Roman Empire ; What Do You Think?: Box 3.4 Divine Rulers as Savior Gods ; What Do You Think?: Box 3.5 Christianity as a Mystery Cult ; At a Glance: Box 3.6 The World of Early Christianity ; CHAPTER 4. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 4.1 The Septuagint: The Hebrew Bible in Greek ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 4.2 Flavius Josephus ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 4.3 Divine Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 4.4 Women in the Synagogues ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 4.5 Other Jewish Miracle-Working Sons of God ; At a Glance: Box 4.6 The Jewish World of Early Christianity ; CHAPTER 5. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 5.1 Orality and Literacy in the Ancient World ; What Do You Think?: Box 5.2 Mark and John on the Time of Jesus' Death ; At A Glance: Box 5.3 The Traditions of Jesus ; CHAPTER 6. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 6.1 Plutarch on Biography ; At A Glance: Box 6.2 The Christian Gospels ; CHAPTER 7. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 7.1 The Jewish Messiah ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 7.2 Jewish Scribes, Herodians, and Chief Priests ; What Do You Think?: Box 7.3 Jesus' Opponents in Mark ; What Do You Think?: Box 7.4 Jesus the Angry Healer ; What Do You Think?: Box 7.5 The Messianic Secret in Mark ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 7.6 Son of God and Son of Man ; What Do You Think?: Box 7.7 The Charge of Blasphemy according to Mark ; At A Glance: Box 7.8 The Gospel of Mark ; CHAPTER 8. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 8.1 Ironing Out the Problems: One Potential Difficulty in Mark's Account ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 8.2 The Contents of Q ; At a Glance: Box 8.3 The Synoptic Problem ; CHAPTER 9. ; What Do You Think?: Box 9.1 Matthew's Scheme of Fourteen ; What Do You Think?: Box 9.2 The Women in Matthew's Genealogy ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 9.3 The Golden Rule ; What Do You Think?: Box 9.4 Gentiles in Matthew's Community ; What Do You Think?: Box 9.5 Was Matthew a Jew? ; At A Glance: Box 9.6 Matthew ; CHAPTER 10. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 10.1 Apologetic Literature in Early Christianity ; What Do You Think?: Box 10.2 Historical Problems with Luke's Birth Narrative ; What Do You Think?: Box 10.3 The Virginal Conception in Matthew and Luke ; What Do You Think?: Box 10.4 Jesus' Bloody Sweat in Luke ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 10.5 Jesus as a Righteous Martyr ; What Do You Think?: Box 10.6 The Institution of the Lord's Supper in Luke ; At A Glance: Box 10.7 Luke ; CHAPTER 11. ; What Do You Think: Box 11.1 The Book of Acts: An Ancient Novel? ; What Do You Think? Box 11.2 Luke's Mysterious Two Men ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 11.3 Luke's Artistry as a Storyteller 1 ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 11.4 Luke's Artistry as a Storyteller 2 ; What Do You Think? Box 11.5 The Death of Judas ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 11.6 Christianity before Paul ; At A Glance: Box 11.7 The Book of Acts ; CHAPTER 12. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 12.1 Jesus' Signs in the Fourth Gospel ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 12.2 The Jews in the Fourth Gospel ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 12.3 Jesus and the I Am Sayings in John ; What Do You Think?: Box 12.4 The Death of the Beloved Disciple in the Johannine Community ; What Do You Think?: Box 12.5 John's De-Apocalypticized Gospel ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 12.6 Did the Early Christians Think That Jesus was God? ; At A Glance: Box 12.7 The Gospel of John ; CHAPTER 13. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 13.1 A Letter from Greco-Roman Egypt ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 13.2 The Gospel and Epistles of John: Some Thematic Similarities ; At a Glance: Box 13.3 Methods for Studying the New Testament ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 13.4 House Churches in Early Christianity ; At a Glance: Box 13.5 The Johannine Epistles ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 13.6 How Do You Know a Gnostic When You See One? ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 13.7 Gnostics and the Jewish Scriptures ; At a Glance: Box 13.8 Gnosticism ; CHAPTER 14. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 14.1 The Gospel of the Ebionites and Early Gospel Harmonies ; What Do You Think?: Box 14.2 Judas Thomas as Jesus' Twin Brother ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 14.3 The Older Sayings of the Gospel of Thomas ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 14.4 The Laughing Jesus ; At a Glance: Box 14.5 The Other Gospels ; CHAPTER 15. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 15.1 Christianity as a Superstition in the Roman World ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 15.2 The Testimony of Flavius Josephus ; What Do You Think?: Box 15.3 Aramaisms as a Criterion of Authenticity ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 15.4 Judas and the Roasting Chicken ; At A Glance: Box 15.5 The Sources for the Historical Jesus ; CHAPTER 16. ; At a Glance: Box 16.1 The Problem of Miracles ; CHAPTER 17. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 17.1 Prophecy and Apocalypticism ; At A Glance: Box 17.2 First-Century Palestinian Judaism ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 17.3 O Little Town of Nazareth ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 17.4 Jesus of Sepphoris? ; At a Glance: Box 17.5 Jesus as an Apocalyptic Prophet ; CHAPTER 18. ; What Do You Think?: Box 18.1 Explaining Away the Apocalyptic Traditions: Seeking the Lost ; What Do You Think?: Box 18.2 Explaining Away the Apocalyptic Traditions: Getting a Date ; What Do You Think?: Box 18.3 Was Jesus a Cynic Philosopher? ; What Do You Think?: Box 18.4 The Temple Incident as an Enacted Parable ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 18.5 Another Apocalyptic Jesus ; What Do You Think?: Box 18.6 Was Jesus Married with Children? ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 18.7 The Cosmic Deliverer of Israel ; What Do You Think?: Box 18.8 Jesus and Family Values ; What Do You Think?: Box 18.9 Jesus and Judas, the Betrayer ; At a Glance: Box 18.10 Jesus the Apocalyptic Prophet ; CHAPTER 19. ; What Do You Think?: Box 19.1 The Women and the Empty Tomb ; What Do You Think?: Box 19.2 Jesus, the Messiah, and the Resurrection ; What Do You Think?: Box 19.3 Vicarious Suffering in Jewish Martyrologies and Other Greco-Roman Literature ; At A Glance: Box 19.4 From Jesus to the Gospels ; CHAPTER 20. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 20.1 The Pauline Corpus ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 20.2 Other Sources for the Life of Paul ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 20.3 What Did Paul Look Like? ; What Do You Think?: Box 20.4 Paul on the Road to Damascus ; At a Glance: Box 20.5 Paul and His Mission ; CHAPTER 21. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 21.1 Rules for a Private Association ; What Do You Think?: Box 21.2 Christians Maligned as Perverts and Criminals ; What Do You Think?: Box 21.3 The Thessalonians' Perplexity ; At a Glance: Box 21.4 1 Thessalonians ; CHAPTER 22. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 22.1 Possibilities of Existence in the Afterlife ; At A Glance: Box 22.2 1 Corinthians ; What Do You Think?: Box 22.3 The Partitioning of 2 Corinthians ; At A Glance: Box 22.4 2 Corinthians ; What Do You Think?: Box 22.5 The Logic of the Opponents' Position in Galatia ; What Do You Think?: Box 22.6 Why Does Paul Appeal to the Law to Deny the Importance of the Law? ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 22.7 Just Say No: Paul's Gospel of Sexual Abstinence ; At A Glance: Box 22.8 Galatians ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 22.9 The Christ Hymn of Philippians ; What Do You Think?: Box 21.10 Was Paul Contemplating Suicide? ; At A Glance: Box 22.11 Philippians ; At a Glance: Box 22.12 Philemon ; CHAPTER 23. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 23.1 The Beginnings of the Roman Church ; What Do You Think?: Box 23.2 Paul's Gospel to the Romans ; What Do You Think?: Box 23.3 Two Different Ways of Salvation in Paul? ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 23.4 Judicial and Participationist Models of Salvation in Paul ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 23.5 Other Models of Salvation in Paul ; At A Glance: Box 23.6 Romans ; CHAPTER 24. ; What Do You Think?: Box 24.1 Jesus and Paul: Some of the Similarities ; What Do You Think?: Box 24.2 Jesus and Paul: Some of the Differences ; At A Glance: Box 24.3 Paul in Relation to What Came Before and After ; CHAPTER 25. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 25.1 Paul's Third Letter to the Corinthians ; What Do You Think?: Box 25.2 The Resurrection of Believers in Paul and Colossians ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 25.3 The Household Rules in Colossians and Ephesians ; What Do You Think?: Box 25.4 The Vocabulary of Salvation in Paul and Ephesians ; At a Glance: Box 25.5 The Deutero-Pauline Epistles ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 25.6 Church Hierarchy in Ignatius ; At a Glance: Box 25.7 The Pastoral Epistles ; CHAPTER 26. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 26.1 Mary Magdalene ; What Do You Think?: Box 26.2 Similarities between 1 Tim 2:11-15 and 1 Cor 14:34-35 ; What Do You Think?: Box 26.3 Women in the Manuscript Tradition of the New Testament ; At A Glance: Box 26.4 Women in Early Christianity ; CHAPTER 27. ; What Do You Think?: Box 27.1 Early and Diverging Views of Christians and Jews ; What Do You Think?: Box 27.2 Divergent Views of Christ in Hebrews ; At a Glance: Box 27.3 Hebrews ; What Do You Think?: Box 27.4 Six Thousand Years and Counting ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 27.5 Gematria in Early Christianity ; At a Glance: Box 27.6 The Epistle of Barnabas ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 27.7 Melito's Passover Sermon ; CHAPTER 28. ; What Do You Think?: Box 28.1 The Christian Disruption of the Family: The Case of Perpetua ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 28.2 The Spread of Christianity ; At a Glance: Box 28.3 1 Peter ; What Do You Think?: Box 28.4 An Alternative View of Christian Martyrdom ; At a Glance: Box 28.5 The Letters of Ignatius ; At a Glance: Box 28.6 The Martyrdom of Polycarp ; CHAPTER 29. ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 29.1 The Development of the Lord's Prayer ; What Do You Think?: Box 29.2 Polycarp and the Early Christian Tradition ; What Do You Think?: Box 29.3 Birds Raised from the Dead and Other Problems in the Corinthian Church ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 29.4 Peter, the Smoked Tuna, and the Flying Heretic ; At a Glance: Box 29.5 Christian Internal Conflicts ; CHAPTER 30 ; What Do You Think?: Box 30.1 The Book of Revelation as Underground Literature ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 30.2 The Author of Revelation in the Early Church ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 30.3 An Ancient Copyright Curse ; What Do You Think?: Box 30.4 Futuristic Interpretations of the Book of Revelation ; At a Glance: Box 30.5 The Book of Revelation ; Another Glimpse into the Past: Box 30.6 The Shepherd of Hermas and the Muratorian Canon
