Examines the continuity between early Christianity and Judaism - the focus of much controversy.

The theme is the continuity and discontinuity between early Christianity and its Jewish parent. The formation of Christian thought is currently the focus of much debate. These essays cover the historical and social context of Palestine and the Diaspora; the New Testament canon and noncanonical writings; and central themes. The concise treatments, with bibliographies, of intensely topical questions by international experts will be of interest and value to teachers and undergraduate students of the New Testament and Christian origins.

This book explores how early Christian intellectuals expressed their understanding of the cosmos. It reviews the role of women, documentation of the vitality and influence of Jewish intellectual thought, and the continuing impact of Greek intellectual thought during Christianity's formative years.

Monotheism is a powerful religious concept shaped by competing ideas and the problems they raised. Surveying New Testament writings and Jewish sources from before and after the rise of Christianity, James F. McGrath argues that even the most developed Christologies in the New Testament fit within the context of first century Jewish monotheism. McGrath pinpoints when the parting of ways took place over the issue of God's oneness, and explores philosophical ideas such as "creation out of nothing" which caused Jews and Christians to develop differing concepts and definitions about God.

Early Christian Life and Thought in Social Context fills a vacuum in current scholarship. While there exist a number of anthologies of sources for students of the New Testament and early Judaism, this book integrates concise explanatory comment on various aspects of the historical and social situation of the early Christians with substantial extracts from early Christian, early Jewish, and Graeco-Roman sources.

The shape and course which Christian thought has taken over its history is largely due to the contributions of individuals and communities in the second and third centuries. Bringing together a remarkable team of distinguished scholars, The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought is the ideal companion for those seeking to understand the way in which Early Christian thought developed within its broader cultural milieu and was communicated through its literature, especially as it was directed toward theological concerns. Divided into three parts, the Companion: asks how Christianity's development was impacted by its interaction with cultural, philosophical, and religious elements within the broader context of the second and third centuries. examines the way in which Early Christian thought was manifest in key individuals and literature in these centuries. analyses Early Christian thought as it was directed toward theological concerns such as God, Christ, Redemption, Scripture, and the community and its worship.