Trajectories Through Early Christianity

"In a pathbreaking study of the development of early Christian literature, two prominent scholars join in introducing a new approach to biblical research. James M. Robinson and Helmut Koester have found that the traditional picture of early Christian history does not readily accommodate new evidence. Recent discoveries, especially the Christian gnostic texts from Nag Hammadi, call into question the categories of New Testament scholarship. The essays in this book suggest a fresh approach that can do justice to an old and new texts, to canonical and apocryphal writings, to orthodox and heretical movements. The author see the task of the biblical scholar as comparable to the restoration of art. When a medieval painting is discovered under a Renaissance fresco, great care is taken to preserve both. Similarly, each layer of tradition in the New Testament and in other early Christian literature must be delineated, then recognized as valid for its time. Robinson and Koester focus on these layers of tradition and trace through them the movements, or "trajectories," of key concepts in early Christian history and theology. The authors delve into different texts and religious developments and into the variety of social, political, religious, and geographical factors which influenced them. The in-depth study of canonical and noncanonical literature in these essays points the way to a dynamic understanding of the original texts and of the complex development they have undergone. Trajectories through Early Christianity brings together the endeavors of historian, theologian, and interpreter, providing a notable starting point for future scholarship."