Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Introduction : What is so important about the second century? -- 1. A peculiar identity : the sociological make-up of second-century Christianity -- 2. A strange superstition : the political and intellectual acceptability of second-century Christianity -- 3. Worshipping Jesus : the ecclesiological structure of second-century Christianity -- 4. Alternative pathways : diversity in second-century Christianity -- 5. The Great Church : unity in second-century Christianity -- 6. A textual culture : the literature of second-century Christianity -- 7. A new scripture : the New Testament canon in second-century Christianity -- Conclusion : Christianity at the crossroads

While scholars have long regarded the second century as one of the most decisive stages in the history of Christianity, there are no introductory surveys devoted solely to this critical period. This book fills this gap by providing an accessible and informative look at the complex and foundational issues faced by an infant church still trying to determine its identity. These issues included battles over heresy and orthodoxy, the development of the canon, the transmission of the Christian scriptures, and more. The church's response to these issues not only determined its survival, but it determined the kind of Church it would be for generations to come.