Beginnings of Christianity. Vol. II.

Paul Wernle was a professor of church history and New Testament studies at the University of Basel around the turn of the 20th century. Wilhelm Bousset, his professor at the University of Göttingen and a student of Adolf von Harnack, had a lasting influence upon his historical approach to biblical criticism. The Beginnings of Christianity, relying upon the Bible and then-current historical and textual scholarship, traces the origin and development of the Christian religion. The second volume documents the rise of the church as an institution, the influences of Gnosticism, Judaism, and Hellenism on Christian practice, the theology of the New Testament, and the lives of the Early Church Fathers.

Kathleen O’Bannon
CCEL Staff