Includes bibliographical references and index.

What is the New Testament? The early Christians and their literature -- Do we have the original New Testament? -- The world of early Christian traditions -- The Jewish context of Jesus and His followers -- The traditions of Jesus in their Greco-Roman context -- The Christian gospels : a literary and historical introduction -- Jesus, the suffering Son of God : the Gospel according to Mark -- The Synoptic problem and its significance for interpretation -- Jesus, the Jewish messiah : the Gospel according to Matthew -- Jesus, the Savior of the world : the Gospel according to Luke -- Luke's second volume : the Acts of the Apostles -- Jesus, the man sent from heaven : the Gospel according to John -- From John's Jesus to the Gnostic Christ : the Johannine Epistles and beyond -- Jesus from different perspectives : other gospels in early Christianity -- The historical Jesus : sources, problems, and methods -- Excursus : the historian and the problem of miracles -- Jesus in context -- Jesus, the apocalyptic prophet -- From Jesus to the gospels -- Paul the Apostle : the man and his mission -- Paul and his apostolic mission : 1 Thessalonians as a test case -- Paul and the crises of his churches : 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, and Philemon -- The gospel according to Paul : the letter to the Romans -- Does the tradition miscarry? Paul in relation to Jesus, James, Thecla, and Theudas -- In the wake of the Apostle : the Deutero-Pauline and Pastoral Epistles -- From Paul's female colleagues to the pastor's intimidated women : the oppression of women in early Christianity -- Christians and Jews : Hebrews, Barnabas, and later anti-Jewish literature -- Christians and pagans : 1 Peter, the letters of Ignatius, the Martyrdom of Polycarp, and later apologetic literature -- Christians and Christians : James, the Didache, Polycarp, 1 Clement, Jude, and 2 Peter -- Christians and the cosmos : the Revelation of John, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Apocalypse of Peter.