Part I

PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY

Chap. I--The Beginnings

§ 1. Documentary Clues 1 § 2. The Earliest Christian Sects 5 § 3. Personality of the Nominal Founder 10 § 4. Myth of the Twelve Apostles 16 § 5. Primary Forms of the Cult 20 § 6. Rise of Gentile Christism 28 § 7. Growth of the Christ Myth 36

Chap. II--The Environment

§ 1. Social and Mental Conditions in the Roman Empire 41 § 2. Jewish Orthodoxy 46 § 3. Jewish Sects: the Essenes 49 § 4. Gentile Cults 51 § 5. Ethics: Popular and Philosophic 60

Chap. III--Conditions of Survival

§ 1. Popular Appeal 67 § 2. Economic Causation 69 § 3. Organization and Sacred Books 72 § 4. Concession and Fixation 75 § 5. Cosmic Philosophy 78