ABSTRACT
In John Muddiman’s chapter (pp. 91–110), the origins of the Christian movement were set in the Judaism of the period. It showed how Jesus and his first followers should be viewed chiefly within that context. It showed also how the Church began to expand to move outwards from its centre in Jerusalem, above all under the impulse of Paul. His mission succeeded in establishing congregations of Jewish and Gentile Christians in many urban centres in Asia Minor and Greece, and others too founded churches in Rome itself and elsewhere. In that early period, the dynamic impulse to spread the gospel, derived from the death and resurrection of Jesus, dominated the scene, despite certain tensions among those engaged in the work. However, within thirty years or so, serious difficulties and conflicts arose, presenting Christianity with its first major trials.
