Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Christian Origins

Christian Origins
Source Problems
- The New Testament
- The Dead Sea Scrolls
- Gnostic Texts
- The Nag Hammadi Library
Jesus of Nazareth (c.4 BCE-c.30 CE)
- Context
- Teaching
- Death
- Historical Evidence
Early Church: First Century
- The Earliest Christians
- Paul of Tarsus (d.c.65 CE) and the Pauline Churches
  - Missionary Activity
  - Theology
Early Church: 2nd-3rd Centuries
- Persecution and Survival
- Challenge to Social and Political Norms of Antiquity
- Church Organization
The Emergence of Theologies
- Early Varieties
- Gnosticism
- "Orthodoxy"
Early Christian Art
The "Triumph" of the Church
Modern Perspectives on Early Christianity

See Internet Medieval Sourcebook for the later history of Christianity

Christian Origins

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Source Problems

MEGA Resources for Biblical Studies [Website]
WEB Encyclopedia of New Testament Textual Cricticism [Website]
A very useful resource.
2ND Bart D. Ehrman: The Neglect of the Firstborn in New Testament Studies [At Religion and Technology Center]
Addresses basic problems of "textual criticism", the firstborn of biblical studies.
2ND Matt Andrews: Debate Rages over the "Jesus Seminar" Midwest Today, March 1994
Journalistic article, but expertly pricks out the hotbed atmosphere of "historical Jesus" scholarship.
2ND Robert M. Price. Review of Luke Timothy Johnson. The Real Jesus: The Misguided Quest for the Historical Jesus and the Truth of the Traditional Gospels. JHC 4/1 (Spring, 1997), 156-158. [At JHC]
Interesting example of the ad hominem attacks all sides seem to engage in. Compare friendlier comments: Review [At Emory] and Review [At First Things]
2ND Laura Joyce Moriarty: Can the Gospel Truth Be Found With Information Technology [At Internet Archive, from Emory]
A discussion of the problems of formerly obscure texts and issues being fought about on the net.
The New Testament
- Gospel of John P52 125CE, [At K.C. Hanson's website] and image Rylands Papyrus P52 [At UK Atheist Site!]
  Image, translation and, discussion of the oldest gospel papyrus fragment. John 18:31-33 (recto), and John 18:37-38 (verso)
- Codex Siniaticus, 4th Cent. CE [Image at Brown]
  The oldest Codex of the New Testament [but not the oldest written fragment.]
- Gospel of Mark [Greek Text] [At UPenn][GreekKeys and BETA]
- The Critical Text of Q [At Internet Archive - has since been published]
- The Acts of the Apostles in Hellenistic Writings [At Internet Archive, from Baylor]
- 2ND Peter van Minnen: Dating the Oldest New Testament Manuscripts [At Duke]
- 2ND Jay C. Treat: Differences Between Classical and Hellenistic Greek A Quick Introduction [At UPenn]
- WEB The Synoptic Problem [Website]
  Clearly explains the issues, with tables and links to other texts.
  - WEB Synoptic Table [At Mindspring]
- WEB The Case Against Q [At NT Gateway]
- WEB Catalogue of New Testament Papyri & Codices 2nd—10th Centuries [At K. V. Hanson's website]
- WEB The Development of the Canon of the New Testament [Website]
  See especially Early Lists of Books of the New Testament.
- WEB Journal of Higher Criticism [Website]
  Many online articles
The Dead Sea Scrolls
- WEB Scrolls from the Dead Sea [Website-UNC]
  See especially the extensive text page.
- WEB Dead Sea Scroll Texts [At UPenn]
- WEB Dead Sea Scrolls [At LCongress]
Gnostic Texts
- WEB Gnostic Society Virtual Library [Website]
- WEB Gnostic Society Library [Website]
- WEB Gnostic Scriptures and Fragments [At Gnostic Society]
The Nag Hammadi Library
- Gospel of Thomas excerpts. [At PBS]
- Thunder Perfect Mind excerpts [At PBS]
- WEB Complete Texts [at gnosis.org]
- WEB Complete Texts [At UPenn]
WEB The Non-Canonical Homepage [Website]

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Jesus of Nazareth (c.4 BCE-c.30 CE)

Context
- Model of Herodian Temple [At K.C. Hanson's Website]
- Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Galilee, Samaria, and Judea in the First Century CE, from The Jewish War, [This Site]
- WEBPalestine in the Time of Jesus [Website/Course - K.C. Hanson]
- WEB The Capernaum Synagogue [Website]
- WEB Ancient Synagogue Literary Library [Website]
  Contains many texts about the institution of the synagogue in the Second Temple period.
- WEB Divine Mediator Figures in the Biblical World [At St. Andrews]
Teaching [links are to Bible Gateway]
- Ethics: The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7
- Parables: Matthew 13:1-30, 36-43, 15:21-28; Luke 10:25-37
- Instructions to Disciples: Matthew 10:1-42, 16:13-28, 24:3-31, 25:31-46
- Claims to Divinity
- Gospels
  - Matthew
  - Mark
  - Luke
  - John
Death
In addition to the canonical gospels, see,
- Gospel of Peter (2nd century) [At Internet Archive, from Theological Network]
  A somewhat expanded account, seen by some scholars (Crossan) as containing stories unknown to the canonical writers. It is an ealry witness to the intense interest in Jesus' resurrection among 2nd cent. Egyptian Christians.
Historical Evidence
- The Pilate Inscription [At K.C. Hanson's website]
  An inscription found in Caesarea which first proved the existence of Pilate.
- Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Description of Jesus [Antiquities of the Jews 18:3][At PBS]
  A much debated text. Many think it is all, or in parts, an interpolation.
- Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Description of Jesus Antiquities of the Jews 18:3 [At UPenn]
  With Greek and Arabic versions.
- 2ND The Gospel Truth, TIME Magazine, April 8, 1996 Volume 147, No. 15 [At Internet Archive, from Millersville]
  On the Jesus Seminar and its critics.
- Birger A. Pearson: The Gospel According to the Jesus Seminar [At UCSB]
  A vigorous attack on the methods.
- WEB Ancient Jewish Accounts of Jesus [At UPenn]
  Texts given in full.
- WEB From Jesus to Christ [PBS Website]
- WEB Jesus of Nazareth in Early Christian Gospels [Formerly "Quest for Historical Jesus"] [Website]
  A really useful site.
- WEB The Jesus Puzzle [Website]
  Denial of the historicity of Jesus. See the Quest site above for very different opinions.
- WEB The Jesus Seminar Forum [At Virtual Religion]
  Excellent collection of primary and secondary sources.
- WEB Conference on the Historical Origins of the Worship of Jesus, 13-17 June 1998, [At St Andrews]
  With extended paper abstracts.
- Monty Python: The Life of Brian [Script][At the Unofficial Monty Python Homepage]
  Thought by some to be blasphemous, this film [explicitly about Brian, not Jesus] raised in a quite interesting way some of the issues discussed in scholarship.

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Early Church: First Century

Josephus, a Jew writing in Greek, and Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny the Younger, are the earliest non-Biblical witnesses to the existence of Christianity. The Didache seems to be a source independent to some degree of the Biblical texts.

The Earliest Christians
- Josephus (37- after 93 CE): Description of Jesus [Antiquities of the Jews 18:3][At PBS]. [aka Testimonium Flavianum]
  Much contested passage. Probably genuine with Christian interpolations.
  See the Flavius Josephus Page [At AOL]
- Tacitus (c.55 -117 CE), Suetonius (c.69-after 122 CE), and Pliny the Younger (61/62-113 CE): Persecution of the Christians [At CSUN]
- Tacitus (c.55 -117 CE): Nero's Persecution of the Christians Annals 15:47 [At WSU]
- The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) 2nd Cent CE [At Spurgeon.org]
- The Oxyrhynchus Hymn (2nd Cent CE) [Text and Audio] [At Smith Creek Music]
  The oldest surviving piece of Christian Music.
- Eusebius (c.260-340 CE): Ecclesiastical History [At CSUN]
  On Jesus Family, the leadership of James, and the New Testament. The tradional historian of the Church, but writing very late.
- WEB The First Christians [At PBS Jesus to Christ Site]
Paul of Tarsus (d.c.65 CE) and the Pauline Churches
- Missionary Activity: Acts of the Apostles [links are to Bible Gateway]
  - Failure in Athens, Acts 17:16-34:
  - Success in Corinth, Acts 18:1-11
- Theology
  - Foolishness of Faith, I Corinthians 1:17-2:8
  - Resurrection of Christ and the Saints, I Corinthians 15:1-55
  - Faith and Law, Romans 1:13-17, Galatians 3:15-29
  - Predestination, Romans 8:18-31, 9:14-22
  - Body and Spirit, Romans 7:22-8:17
  - Radical Equality, Galatians 3:27-29
  - Love, I Corinthians 13:1-13
  - Men and Women
- Undisputed Letters:
- Disputed Letters:
  - Colossians
  - II Thessalonians
- Post-Pauline Epistles:
  - Ephesians
  - I Timothy
  - II Timothy
  - Titus
  - Hebrews [does not claim to be Pauline]
- 2ND Darrell J. Doughty: Pauline Paradigms and Pauline Authenticity JHC 1 (Fall 1994), 95-128. [At Drew]

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Early Church: 2nd-3rd Centuries

Persecution and Survival
- Pliny the Younger (61/62-113 CE) Letters of Pliny on the Christians (Book X, 45-46) [At PBS]; and in Latin/English [At K.C. Hanson's website]; and in Latin [At Upenn]
- Vibia Perpetua (d. 203 CE): Perpetua's Diary in Prison 203 CE [At PBS]
- Tertullian (c.155-after 220 CE): The Apology [At New Advent] or here [At CCEL]
  A Christian view of the persecutions.
- The Ritual Cannabilism Charge Against Christians, excerpts from Mincius Felix and Hippolytus, [At this Site]
- Certificate of Having Sacrificed to the Gods, 250 CE
  As a way of proving you were not a Christian - under Decius.
- Lactantius (c.240-c.320 CE): Of the Manner in which the Persecutors Died (Addressed to Donatus) (318 CE?) [At Calgary]
  A pamphlet listing the various persecutors of Christians, and how they died.
- Deeds of Zenophilus: How the Romans Tried to Seize Christian Books, c. 395 CE [At this Site]
- Eusebius (c.260-340 CE): The Martyrs of Palestine [At Calgary]
  from the Ecclesiastical History
- WEB The Christian Catacombs of Rome [Website]
  Texts, modern accounts, and images.
Challenge to Social and Political Norms of Antiquity
- Celsus (2nd Cent CE): Christians and Christianity [Derived from Origen's Contra Celsum][At Bluffton]
- Jerome (348-420 CE): Letter to a Soldier (Letter 14), 374 [At Then Again]
- Rulings on Marriage, Family and Related Issues [At Calgary]
Church Organization
- Ambrose of Milan (c.339-4 April 397): On the Characteristics Suitable for a Bishop [ep. 63] [at Calgary]

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The Emergence of Theologies

2ND Origen, Augustine, [IEP Articles]
Gnosticism
- See Gnostic Texts above
- Marcion (2nd Cent CE): Gospel of the Lord c. 220 CE [At Gnostic Society]
- WEB Valentinus and the Valentinians [At Gnostic Society]
"Orthodoxy"
- Tertullian: On Pagan Learning, c. 220 CE [At this Site]
  On the distinction between "Athens" and "Jerusalem".
- 2ND C Volz: The Apostolic Fathers [At Internet Archive, from Luthersem.edu][Modern Text]
  Part of a site on WEB Church History 100-1400
- 2ND C. Volz: The Greek Apologists of the Second Century [At Internet Archive, from Luthersem.edu][Modern Text]
- St. Vincent of Lerins: The "Vincentian Canon" 434 CE [At this Site]

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Early Christian Art

WEB Early Christian Art [At Internet Archive, from Coconino CC]

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The "Triumph" of the Church

Eusebius (c.260-340 CE): Ecclesiastical History - Conversion of Constantine [At Medieval Sourcebook]
Edit of Galerius and the "Edict of Milan" 311/313 [At Medieval Sourcebook]
Codex Theodosianus: On Religion, 4th Cent CE. [At Medieval Sourcebook]
Theodoret (c.393-466 CE): St. Ambrose Humiliates Theodosius the Great, Ecclesiastical History, V.17-18, [At this Site]
Junillus: Instituta Regularia c. 542 CE [At U Penn]

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Modern Perspectives on Early Christianity

Eliazear Segal: Jesus on my Mind [At U Alberta]
Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza: Summary of In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins [At Sunshine for Women]
Ross Shepard Kraemer: Summary of Her Share of the Blessings: Summary of Women's Religions Among the Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greco-Roman World [At Sunshine for Women]

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NOTES:

Dates of accession of material added since July 1998 can be seen in the New Additions page.. The date of inception was 4/8/1998.

Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site name or location]. Locally available texts are marked by [At this Site].

WEB indicates a link to one of small number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable overview.

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