ABSTRACT
An introduction to the origms of Christianity should begin with a reading of the gospels of Matthew and John and the letters of Paul. For a good, brief survey of the religious and political situation of Judaism during Jesus's lifetime see Marcel Simon, Jewish Sects at the Time of Jesus, translated by James H. Farley (Philadelphia, Pa., 1967).
Joseph B. Tyson, The New Testament and Early Christianity (New York, 1984) is a .study of Christianity from its origins to the rise of Catholic Christianity in the second century, with its characteristic institutions of bishops, written creeds and a canon of scripture. W. H. C. Frend has published two surveys of the history of the early church to the sixth century. The shorter survey is The Early Church (London, 1965; reprinted in 1982) and the more detailed survey is The Rise of Christianity (Philadelphia, Pa., 1984). A. H. M. Jones, Constantine and The Conversion of Europe (London, 1948; reprinted in 1962) is a concise treatment of that turning point in the history of Christianity.
