The Christian World around the New Testament

The Christian World around the New Testament brings together Richard Bauckham's well-known work on Gospel origins, early Christianity, and patristic literature in one convenient volume.

Containing thirty-one studies published over Bauckham's distinguished career, this volume ranges widely over early Christianity and early Christian literature in the New Testament and the early patristic periods. It reflects the author's conviction that the historical study of early Christianity should not isolate New Testament literature from other early Christian literature but must take full account of such sources as the apostolic fathers and Christian apocryphal literature.

Some of these studies further develop themes from Bauckham's books on aspects of the Gospels, including the intended audiences of the Gospels, how Gospel traditions were transmitted, the role of the eyewitnesses in the origins of the Gospels, the importance of Papias's evidence about Gospel traditions, and the relationship between canonical and Gnostic Gospels. Some studies relate to important people, such as Peter, Barnabas, Paul, and James. Bauckham's work includes a full investigation of the evidence for the martyrdom of Peter, an attempt to locate the estate of Publius where Paul stayed on Malta, and studies on the Sabbath and the Lord's Day in both the New Testament and patristic periods. Other studies survey the main categories of apocryphal Christian literature, including the apocryphal Gospels and Acts, with a special focus on noncanonical apocalypses, such as the Apocalypse of Peter and the Latin Vision of Ezra.

Published simultaneously with Mohr Siebeck's hardcover edition, this paperback edition will be indispensable to scholars and students of the New Testament and the early church.

Contents

Introduction
Gospel Audiences
Introduction
1. For Whom Were Gospels Written?
2. Is There Patristic Counter-Evidence?
A Response to Margaret Mitchell
Gospel Traditions
Introduction
3. The Transmission of the Gospel Traditions
4. Werner Kelber on Oral Tradition: A Critique
5. The Gospel of Mark: Origins and Eyewitnesses--A Discussion of the Work of Martin Hengel
6. Luke's Infancy Narrative as Oral History in Scriptural Form
7. Did Papias Write History or Exegesis?
8. The Gospel of John and the Synoptic Problem
9. Review Article: Gospel Writing by Francis Watson
10. Review Article: Seeking the Identity of Jesus
Gospels and Canon
11. The Canonicity of the Four Gospels
Early Christian People
12. 2 Corinthians 4:6: Paul's Vision of the Face of Jesus Christ as the Face of God
13. Barnabas in Galatians
14. The Martyrdom of Peter in Early Christian Literature
15. James at the Centre
16. The Estate of Publius on Malta (Acts 28:7)
Early Church
17. The Lord's Day
18. Sabbath and Sunday in the Post-Apostolic Church
19. Kerygmatic Summaries in the Speeches of Acts
20. Kingdom and Church according to Jesus and Paul
Early Christian Apocryphal Literature
21. The Two Fig Tree Parables in the Apocalypse of Peter
22. Apocryphal Pauline Literature
23. Apocryphal Gospels
24. The Acts of Paul as a Sequel to Acts
25. The Acts of Paul: Replacement of Acts or Sequel to Acts?
26. Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphal Literature
27. Non-canonical Apocalypses
28. Hell in the Latin Vision of Ezra
29. Early Christian Apocrypha as Imaginative Literature
Early Patristics
30. The Great Tribulation in the Shepherd of Hermas
31. The Fall of the Angels as the Source of Philosophy in Hermias and Clement of Alexandria
Indexes