Introduction: How to use this book 1. What is Early Christianity and Why Does it Deserve Study? The Shape of Early Christianity Approaching Early Christianity in the Twenty-first Century 2. Tradition and Revelation: The historical quest for early Christianity Discovering Early Christianity in the Age of Constantine Early Christianity from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages Renewal, Reform, and the Origins of Critical Scholarship The Rise of Modern Scholarship 3. The Search for Early Christianity: Sources and their Interpretation Christian Literature Jewish and Pagan literature Documentary Sources and Material Remains Using the Sources 4. Messiahs and Missions: Contexts for the Origins and Spread of Christianity Christian Origins and the Problem of Judaism Mission and Conversion: The expansion of early Christianity Case Study: Inscriptions and the missionary journeys of Paul 5. Doctrine and Power: Orthodoxy and organization in early Christianity How Many Bishops Attended the Council of Nicaea? The Ideal of Unity in Early Christianity Organization and Personnel Ritual Orthodoxy and Heresy Truth, Tradition, Text Case Study: The Nag Hammadi discoveries and early Christianity 6. Confronting Babylon: Early Christianity and the Roman Empire An Age of Persecutions? Christian Alienation from Roman Society Christian Attitudes to the Roman Empire Towards Christendom: An uneven progress Case Study: Pliny the Younger and the early Christians 7. Discovering Early Christianity Points of Departure Source Materials Specialist Journals Bibliographic Guides to Chapters 3-6 Notes Bibliography Index.