This volume is designed as an introduction to the beginnings of Christianity and its early literature. The authors identify crucial questions current in biblical studies and present the reader with the views and arguments of an impressive array of highly respected scholars. In their preface, the authors note that "the path from the Galilean Jesus of the synoptic Gospels to the risen Savior God of Paul and the pre-existent Christ of the Fourth Gospel is both intriguing and difficult. We have attempted the perhaps impossible task of engaging the reader in some involvement with a broad spectrum of insights from leading scholars, while at the same time preserving the substance of the narrative tradition that has been the historical foundation of the Christian religion ... We are skeptical of the possibility of any definitive account of the events of Jesus' ministry or the substance and meaning of his teachings. But while recognizing the innumerable disputes among historians and Bible scholars, we have tried to identify what contemporary scholarship generally regards as the most reliable traditions about what happened in the beginning of the Christian movement." -- amazon.com
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