Includes bibliographical references.

Contents:
Part 1 The Mother Soil: Judaism From the Maccabees to the Rabbis --
1. The Cultural Dimension: Judaism & Hellenism --
Introduction: The Maccabean Revolt --
Alexander the Great and the Triumph of Hellenism --
The Hellenistic City: The Polis --
Hellenism in Israel --
A New Conception of the Torah --
The Concept of Judaism --
Greek in Israel --
Active Dissemination of Judaism and Christianity --
Postscript --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
2. The Political Dimension: Jews & the Roman Empire --
The End of the Hasmonean Dynasty and the Beginning of Roman Rule --
The Bar Kokhba Revolt --
The Tension Between Jews and Romans --
The Legal Position of Jewish and Gentile Believers --
Epilogue --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
3. The Geographical Dimension: The Land of Israel & the Diaspora --
The Diaspora --
The Land of Israel --
The Galilee --
Jerusalem: The Capital of All Jews --
"Palestinian" Judaism and "Hellenistic" Judaism? --
The Geography of Synagogue and Church --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
4. Jerusalem: The City of the Temple --
Was Jerusalem Relevant? --
The Temple and the Pilgrimages --
The Temple: The Financial Significance --
The Temple: The Religious Significance --
The Chief Priests, the Priests and the Levites --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
5. How Many "Judaism"? --
Introduction: "Give me Jabnel!" --
The Priestly Elite --
Priestly Judaism: The Sadducees --
Priestly Judaism: The Community at Qumran and the Essenes --
The Community at Qumran --
The Essenes --
Priestly Judaism for Laypeople: The Pharisees --
Judaism Apart from the Temple: The Synagogue --
Nationalistic Judaism: The Zealots --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
Part 2: Christian Beginnings: From Jewish Party to Gentile Church --
6. Jesus Within Judaism --
"The Old Quest" --
"The New Quest" --
"The Third Quest": A Jewish Quest --
Jesus and the Hope of Israel --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
7. The Early Jerusalem Community of Believers in Jesus --
The Importance of Jerusalem to the Early Church --
Conflict in the Temple; Sympathy from the People --
Increased Conflict: The "Hellenists" --
The First Believers' View of the Temple --
What About the Torah? --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
8. The Mission to the Gentiles & the Question of the Torah --
Problems? --
The Role of Paul and the Apostolic Council --
The Mission to the God-Fearing Gentiles --
The Reaction of the Roman Authorities --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
9. The Land of Israel: The Church of Jewish Believers --
Internal Diversity --
The Sources --
Jewish Believers in the Land of Israel (I): The Archaeology of Holy Places --
Jerusalem: The Holy Sepulchre --
Jerusalem: A Community Center on Mount Zion? --
Capernaum: The House of Peter? --
Nazareth --
Jewish Believers in the Land of Israel (II): Literary Evidence --
The Relatives of Jesus --
Eusebiu's List of Jewish Christian "Bishops" --
The Rabbis and the Minim --
Bar Kokhba and the Jewish Believers --
The Nazarenes --
The Ebionites --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
10. The Diaspora: The Church of Jews & Gentiles --
The Apostolic Fathers --
1 Clement --
Didache --
Ignatius --
Barnabas --
Concluding Remarks: The Jewish Believers as the Theological Teachers of Gentile Christianity --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
11. Encounter with Paganism - & the Jewish Heritage --
Introduction --
Conversion in Judaism and Christianity --
The Apologists --
The Martyrs of Lyons --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
12. Orthodoxy & Heresy: The Challenge from Gnosticism & Marcion --
The Basic Definition of Heresy --
The Fundamentals of Gnostic Doctrine --
Gnosticism and Christianity --
The Origins of Gnosticism --
Gnostic Elitism --
Marcion --
Conclusion: Heresy and Orthodoxy --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
13. Elder & Younger Brothers: The Second-Century Debate with Judaism --
Introduction: The Bitterness of Family Strife --
From Jewish Self-Criticism to Anti-Jewish Slogans --
The Assertiveness of the Younger Brother --
Justin's Dialogue with Trypho --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
Part 3: The Persistence of the Jewish Heritage: Faith & Order in the Early Church --
14. Which Books Belong in the Bible? The Question of Canon --
What Is "Scripture"? --
The Old Testament Canon in Judaism and the Early Church --
Delimiting the Hebrew Canon --
The Old Testament Apocrypha --
Delimiting The New Testament Canon --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
15. Christology in the Making (I): The Messiah --
Jesus: The Messiah? --
The Messianic Task --
Confessing Belief in the Messiah: The Apostolic Creed --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
16. Christology in the Making (II): The Incarnate Word --
Eastern and Western Christology --
Eastern Christology: Hellenistic? --
Wisdom Incarnate --
Jesus and Wisdom/Torah --
The Father and the Son --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
17. The Creative Spirit --
From Spirit to Organization? --
The Spirit Who Creates --
Spirit, Eucharist and Ministry --
Charismatic Gifts --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
18.Conversion, Baptism & New Life --
Conversion and Baptism in the Early Community: The Double Background --
Jewish and Christian Baptism --
Jewish and Christian Ritual of Conversion - -
Pre-Baptismal Instruction --
Fasting, Prayer and Exorcism --
Renouncing the Devil, Confessing Faith --
The "Living Water" of Baptism --
Going Down, Coming Up" --
Undressing and Dressing Anew --
Post-Baptismal Anointing --
The Baptismal Eucharist --
The Season for Baptism --
Baptism, Spirit and New Life --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
19. Worship & Calendar: The Christian Week and Year --
Freedom and Order --
The Big Novelty of Christian Worship: The First Day --
Sunday Worship --
The Service of the Word --
The Christian Day and Week --
The Christian Year --
Passover (Pesach) and Easter --
The Jewish Festival of Weeks (Shavuot) and Christian Pentecost --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
20. Passover & Eucharist --
The Eucharist: Lines of Development --
The Eucharist Prayer and the Passover Meal --
The Eucharistic Prayers in Didache 9-10 --
The Eucharistic Prayer in Justin and Polycarp --
The Eucharistic Prayer in Hippolytus --
The Eucharist as Sacrifice --
Postscript --
Temple Square --
Suggestions for Further Reading --
Part 4: Epilogue --
21. The Church Facing a New Era --
The Great Roman Crisis and Restitution --
The Great Persecution --
"The Constantinian Revolution" --
What Has the Emperor to Do with the Church? --
Renouncing the World in a "Christian" Empire --
"The Sanctification of Time" --
The Sanctification of Places: The Idea of the Holy Land --
Christian Philo-Semitism: A Grass-Roots Movement --
Postscript: No End --
Suggestions for Further Reading