Chapter One, "Introduction"

What question is the author addressing? Why do we study the history of the Church? (What does it have to do with being a Christian?)

Thesis statement. "From its very beginning, the Christian message was grafted onto human history."

Outline.

I. The Bible itself takes human history seriously.

• A. In Christ, God has entered history in a unique way.
• B. The Bible relates revelation to the history of the people of God.
• C. The book of the Acts is about the deeds of the Spirit through the apostles.

II. The history of the Church is about the deeds of the Spirit through sinners.

• A. The work of the Spirit is (it is true) sometimes obscured by human sinfulness.
• B. But only through these historical sinners has the biblical message come to us.
• C. The record of their witness is important.

III. We are the heirs of the past.

• A. The past influences us; tradition colours our interpretations.
• B. Every renewal of the church depends on a renewed reading of history.

Chapter Two, "The Fullness of Time"

What question is the author addressing? Was Christianity shaped by the historical cultures in which it began to take shape?

Thesis statement. Because "the church was never disconnected from the world around it," we can only understand the history of Christianity by "looking at the world in which it evolved".

Outline.

I. Christianity was born into the world of Judaism in Palestine.

A. Palestine was a land of strife and suffering. Part of its suffering came from its rebellion against hellenism.

B. Part of its suffering came from its almost continual rebellion against Roman authority.

C. As a result, various parties evolved within Judaism.

• 1. Pharisees
• 2. Sadducees
• 3. Zealots and Essenes

D. But two fundamental tenets were constant in Palestinian Judaism (and in Christianity), ethical monotheism and eschatological hope.

E. The Pharisees survived the destruction of the Temple (and Judaism continued in a Pharisaic form).

II. Christian missions took the Church into the world of Diaspora Judaism (Judaism outside Palestine).

• A. Diaspora Judaism was one of the main avenues for Christian evangelism.
• B. Diaspora Judaism provided a Greek translation of Old Testament, which was essential for Christianity.
• C. Attempts in Diaspora Judaism to reconcile faith and culture helped Christians "show to the pagan world that their faith was credible".

III. Christianity also soon moved into the wider Greco-Roman World.

• A. The Roman Empire provided the Church with a unified context of Roman law and hellenistic culture.
• B. It was an advantage for Christians that Romans made travel safe and economically useful; this helped the spread of Christianity.
• C. But Greco-Roman culture was in some respects hostile to Christianity since it encouraged religious syncretism and emperor worship.
• D. Platonism and Stoicism were helpful philosophical vehicles for Christian communication.