A History of the First Christians.

A History of the First Christians. By Alexander J. M. Wedderburn. Understanding the Bible and Its World. London, New York: T & T Clark/Continuum, 2004. xii and 296 pages. Cloth $130.00.

This history of early Christianity concentrates on the period down to C.E. 70, treating the last third of the first century quite briefly. It should be the standard critical English introduction to that history for the next decade or two. Wedderburn discusses the sources in the introduction (carefully describing how fragmentary they are and making clear the problems in using Acts in the writing of history).

Chapters 2 to 4 cover the origins of Christianity as a Jewish group (resurrection appearances and Pentecost), the emergence of the Hellenists (Stephen and early persecution), and the spread of Christianity (Peter's activity, beginnings in Antioch).

Chapters 5 through 7, the largest section of the work, discuss Paul, a concentration justified by the number of surviving writings. Wedderburn makes careful, discriminating use of Acts in describing Paul's life down to the Jerusalem council and in working out the chronology of Paul's ministry (chaps. 5 and 6). Chapter 7 describes Paul's missionary activity, including a description of Pauline communities and their problems and the significance of the collection.

"Judaizing Christianity" is the subject of chapter 8 (James, the Jerusalem church, etc.). Chapter 9 is devoted to "Pauline Christianity after Paul" (a Pauline school? "early Catholicism"). Chapter 10 describes "Johannine Christianity," based on the Gospel and the three letters. The last chapter, "The Church in the Roman Empire," briefly surveys the relationship of the Roman authorities to the Christian community. Some texts receive scant treatment, e.g., 1 Peter, Revelation, and the deutero-Pauline literature. Hebrews merits only two brief mentions.

The history Wedderburn has given us is magnificent on the church down to Paul but falls off decidedly after that. Still, it is one of the best we have, up to date in its bibliography and in the questions it asks. A select bibliography and indexes of primary sources, modern literature cited, and subjects discussed completes the volume.

The publisher describes the goal of the new series as responding to "the needs of introductory level students." It is also to appeal to "the general reader who wants to be better informed about the latest advances in our understanding of the Bible and of the intellectual, political and religious world in which it was formed." Wedderburn's history goes far beyond that goal: It is critical, sophisticated history, heavily documented from modern scholarship, replete with discussions of key texts, that fills a gap in the professional literature of New Testament studies.