Jesus and After: The First Eighty Years

by E. Bruce Brooks

Overview

Jesus and After uses extracts from Biblical and other writings to outline the birth and early development of the Jesus sect of Judaism - its early simplicity, its later growth, and its separation from its Jewish parent. Besides its focus on the past, this book offers suggestions for the future of both religions. The book shows how these writings fit together chronologically, and how, together, they give a sense of the evolution of Christian thinking, from the death of Jesus in the year 30 to the trials of Christians under Pliny in 110. It has the scholar in view, but it also speaks to the concerns of moden Christians who are uncertain about some traditional church doctrines, and who may be interested to find that those doctrines are not original to Christianity, but are instead part of its later development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936166671
Publisher:	Warring States Project
Publication date:	12/31/2017
Series:	Studies in Early Christianity
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	811,058
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

E. BRUCE BROOKS lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, and is a Research Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is the author of many articles, reviews, and book chapters, and of two books, one on the Analects of Confucius (1998), in which the supposed sayings of Confucius are separated into early and late; and The Emergence of China, a general introduction to the many schools of thought in the Chinese classical period, and their evolution and interaction. Jesus and After does both these things for Christianity. It distinguishes early from late in individual Christian texts, and shows the development of the religion over time.

Table of Contents

Alpha

1 The Promise to David (2 Samuel 7) 13

2 The Coming of John (Luke 1) 15

3 The Duty of Man (Micah 6) 17

4 The Six Commandments (Mark 10:19) 19

5 The Traditions of the Fathers (Mark 7) 21

6 The Sins of the Children (Mark 9 and 10) 23

7 Jairus' Daughter (Mark 5) 25

8 The Sermon by the Sea (Mark 4) 27

9 Friends and Family (Mark 3) 29

10 At Nazareth (Mark 6) 31

11 Approaching the Temple (Mark II and 14) 33

12 The Crucifixion (Mark 15) 35

13 The Rending of the Veil (Mark 15:38) 37

14 Maranatha (Didache 10) 39

15 The Churches (Jacob) 41

16 The Elders (Didache 6-12) 45

17 The Patrons (Mark 15:40-41) 49

18 The Departure of the Rich (Jacob 1-2 and 4-5) 51

19 The Virtue of Poverty (Mark 10) 53

Beta

20 Enter Paul (Galatians 1) 57

21 The Son of God (Mark 1, 9, and 15) 59

22 The Empty Tomb (Mark 15-16) 61

23 Paul's Conversion (Romans 7) 63

24 The Syrophoenician Woman (Mark 7) 65

25 The Jerusalem Ruling (Acts 15) 67

26 The Jerusalem Five (Acts 12) 69

27 Mark at Perga (Acts 13) 71

28 Baptism and the Spirit (Acts 18 and 19) 73

29 The Heavenly Jesus (Philippians 2) 75

30 A Letter to Philippi (Philippians 1-4) 77

31 Freeing Onesimus (Philemon) 81

32 Factions at Corinth (1 Cor I) 83

33 Alpha Fights Back (Roamans 3-4, Jacob 2) 85

34 The Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6) 87

35 The Golden Rule (Luke 6:31) 90

36 The Inscrutable Steward (Luke 16) 92

37 The Sermon on the Way (Luke 9-18) 95

38 Restoring the Law (Matthew 23:1-3a) 107

39 Woes Unto the Pharisees (Matthew 23) 109

Crisis

40 Yohanan ben Zakkai (Mishnah Rosh Hasshanah 4) 113

41 Including Alpha (Romans 1) 115

42 Preaching at Athens (Acts 17) 117

43 The Question of Women (1 Cor 11) 119

44 The Fullness of God (Colossians 1) 121

45 Principalities and Powers (Colossians 2) 123

46 The Bishops (Titus 1 and 2) 125

47 A Baptismal Homily (1 Peter) 127

48 Toleration in the Synagogues (Mishnah Yadayim 4) 133

49 A Hymn to the Light (Ephesians 5) 135

50 Light and Life (John 1) 137

51 The Wedding at Cana (John 2) 139

52 An Alpha Statement (1 John, original) 141

53 A Beta Appropriation (1 John, expanded) 145

54 A Beta Refusal (2 John) 151

55 An Alpha Response (3 John) 153

Division

56 Expulsion from the Synagogues (Babli Berakhot 28) 157

57 Rejecting Judaism (Acts 28) 159

58 The Last Farewell (John 16) 161

59 Emergency in Pontus (1 Peter 1 and 4) 163

60 Troubles at Rome (1 Clement 1) 165

61 The Assertion of Control (1 Clement 5-6) 167

62 The Inner Quest (Gospel of Thomas 1-12) 169

63 A Hymn at Daybreak (Odes of Solomon 15) 171

64 Finding Rest (Odes of Solomon 38) 173

65 Once More in Pontes (Pliny Letter 96) 175

66 In Later Times (Arius of Alexandria) 178

Afterword 180

End Matter

Chronology 183

Works Cited 185

Passages included 187

Subject Index 190

What People are Saying About This

Paul Ropp

“This book is a treasure for anyone interested in the actual history of early Christianity, the life of Jesus in his own time, his earliest followers, and how the movement evolved after the death of Jesus. I have read several books on this topic, but this one makes fuller use of the primary sources, and identifies and dates the layers in those sources. It lets the authors speak directly to the reader, and then provides fuller understanding by giving the historical context and motivations of the authors. It brings the early Jesus movement alive in all its human drama and complexity. It shows the many possibilities available to the movement, and how some of them continue to inspire Christians down to the present day. The result is a Christianity for modern grown-ups, who don’t have to believe that God created the laws of physics only to capriciously suspend them; who don’t need to depend on ancient superstitions about sacrificing goats or people to “save” or protect themselves. The book has an immediacy that I find convincing and exciting. It’s accessible to someone like me, who grew up immersed in Christianity, but who has not followed Biblical scholarship in depth for many years.”

Stephen C Durrant

“The author has accomplished something rare in this outstanding book: he has mingled careful textual study with a sense of theological urgency. The Jesus who emerges from Brooks’ expert philological excavation is, quite remarkably, a Jesus many of us who have wandered from the fold might want to revisit. Freed from the secondary accretions of what Brooks calls Beta Christianity, which includes such “stumbling blocks” as blood atonement and resurrection, the original Christian teaching shines forth with a kind of simplicity and directness that is both moving and relevant. And Brooks delivers all of this in language of admirable brevity and clarity. A must read for all of us interested in what Christianity once was.”

Editorial Reviews

"The author has accomplished something rare in this outstanding book: he has mingled careful textual study with a sense of theological urgency. The Jesus who emerges from Brooks' expert philological excavation is, quite remarkably, a Jesus many of us who have wandered from the fold might want to revisit. Freed from the secondary accretions of what Brooks calls Beta Christianity, which includes such "stumbling blocks" as blood atonement and resurrection, the original Christian teaching shines forth with a kind of simplicity and directness that is both moving and relevant. And Brooks delivers all of this in language of admirable brevity and clarity. A must read for all of us interested in what Christianity once was." Stephen W Durrant, University of Oregon "This book is a treasure for anyone interested in the actual history of early Christianity, the life of Jesus in his own time, his earliest followers, and how the movement evolved after the death of Jesus. I have read several books on this topic, but this one makes fuller use of the primary sources, and identifies and dates the layers in those sources. It lets the authors speak directly to the reader, and then provides fuller understanding by giving the historical context and motivations of the authors. It brings the early Jesus movement alive in all its human drama and complexity. It shows the many possibilities available to the movement, and how some of them continue to inspire Christians down to the present day. The result is a Christianity for modern grown-ups, who don't have to believe that God created the laws of physics only to capriciously suspend them; who don't need to depend on ancient superstitions about sacrificing goats or people to "save" or protect themselves. The book has an immediacy that I find convincing and exciting. It's accessible to someone like me, who grew up immersed in Christianity, but who has not followed Biblical scholarship in depth for many years." Paul Ropp, Clark University

From the Publisher