Overview of the Sources and their Geographical Distribution

The Spread of Early Christianity (see especially Bauer, Orthodoxy Harnack, Mission 2)

Phoenecia, Syria (Antioch, Edessa), and Eastward towards India
Alexandria and Egypt
Asia Minor (Cyprus, Cilicia)
Greece (Macedonia, Achaia, Illyricum)
Rome and Westward towards Gaul and Spain
North Africa

Classification of Extant Sources (Primary, Secondary)

Christian Literature (see especially Goodspeed-Grant, Koester+)
Inscriptions and Incidental Written Remains
Evidence from Art and Archaeology
References to Christians by Others

Selected Problems Confronting Early Christianity

What Happens When the Expected End Fails to Arrive?

*Paul/Paulists, Montanus/Montanism
J. Gager, Kingdom and Community
Earliest Christianity as an Eschatological/Apocalyptic Impetus
Frustrations, Fulfillments, and Future Hopes
Eschatology Internalized and Institutionalized

How is Authority Constituted, Recognized, Enforced, Transmitted?

*Galatians, Didache, 1 Clement, Ignatius, Epistle of Apostles
Development of Authoritative Traditions > Literature
Models of Human Leadership (Spiritual Authority, Institutional Base)
Inclusion/Exclusion -- Struggles between Orthodoxy and Heresy

Belief and Conduct in Christian Communities

*Johannine Epistles, Pastorals, 2 Clement, Justin Apology
From Messiah to "Christology"
From Confrontations to Creedal Formulations
From Varieties (Heterodoxy) to "Heresies"
Communities at Worship (Heteropraxy to Orthopraxy)

Relationships to Surrounding Societies

*Justin Dialogue, Tatian Apology, Diognetus
From Jewish Messianism to Christian Anti-Jewishness
From Pagan Gentiles to "the Third Race"
From Survival to a "Public Image" and Socio-Political Influence

Synthesis: Types of Varieties of Early Christianity

Christian Jews -- Jesus' God is Creator, Moses' Words Endure
"Gnostic" Christians -- Alien to the Material World and its Creator
Emerging "Mainstream" -- Preserving/Forging a Middle Ground