For Easter reading I recommend E. Bruce Brooks' book: Jesus and After The First Eighty Years.
The author analyzes the New Testament Canon as a philologist and shows a chronology of canonical writings from the earliest to the latest with interpolations. He distinguishes alpha Christians (the earliest), beta Christians (the second wave) and even gamma Christians (Gnostic). The alphas did not focus on resurrection and stressed doing good deeds and keeping the law, with Jesus as their guide to return to God. Much of Mark is in this vein as is also Epistle of James (to Brooks this is Jacob as a more authentic name). Paul began his mission before the end of the Apostolic Age and in fact saw himself as an Apostle by Jesus Christ and is pretty much the inventor of the beta beliefs. He stressed the resurrection and atonement for forgiveness of sins.
Brooks shows how the early Christians usurped the Jewish texts for their purposes and how later the beta group usurped alpha writings by insertions for their purposes. The three epistles of John show this transition well.
The alpha group was basically a sect of Judaism and even kept some of the writings along side the Torah in synagogues. With the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Judaism and the Christian groups became less centralize (not in Jerusalem any more). Christianity became an almost exclusive gentile religion. Initially Matthew as Brooks sees it became the most vocal to distinguish the Christian sect from Judaism, not so much as anti-Semitic as pushing for direct ownership of their religion. There are conflicts back and forth among the alpha and beta groups too. Each group considered itself the correct interpreter and sent letters to churches admonishing adherence to their views and rejection of the other.
Brooks' chronology is a little different than what I have seen with other scholars but not so far off. Mark he dates to the 40's and John's Gospel to around the 80's. Matthew and Luke are in between. But interpolated parts and revisions of all the Canon are at different dates.
Eventually too Brooks deals with the writings of the Church Fathers e.g. Clement. I havn't yet finished the book but I will by Easter and will update this blog.
----The Bishop
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