badger3k

Hopefully I can keep up coming here about once a day to check on this, but here goes anyway...

While listening to a Bart Ehrman teaching company lecture (one of a few I have by him) he mentions the development of the Roman Church and the mention of/use of the "Apostolic Succession" bit (from 1 Clement and something by Iranaeus - sp? - sorry, it's late). I know the myths about Peter being the first bishop/pope, and about the actual state of the first Christian churches (charismatic, no ordered structure, etc) (as well as other forms such as the Gnostic arrangement), and the only quote that comes to mind is the Jesus/Peter bit ("on this rock I will build...yadda yadda yadda"). Can anyone tell me if there is more that was used to point towards this idea, or did it arise from various writers as the canon/orthodoxy developed?

As an aside, after hearing Ehrman's "historical Jesus" lecture series, he presents an interesting case for Jesus as a Jewish apocalypticist. Anyone reading this thread have any recommendations for futher reading into this idea (both pro and con)?

In case I can't get back until this weekend, thanks for any replies. Apologies if what I write isn't the clearest, but I think most people here know (more than) enough about the subject to know what I am talking about. If not, I'll try to clear it up when I check back. Time for bed now. :snooze:

dongiovanni1976x

Personally if you are looking for a good intro to this topic I think Ehrman's "The New Testament : A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings" covers this very well in a general and very clear way. Gives you the background necessary to see the importance of many other concepts involved in the process.

Paula Fredriksen's "From Jesus to Christ" is likewise a good read. She builds a good backdrop by underscoring the importance of Hellenism and Jewish influences and goes from Paul to Mark, to Matthew, to Luke and finally to John, which help to highlight the evolution of Christian theology of the early church.

Geza Vermes' (famous for his work on the Dead Sea Scrolls) "The Changing Faces of Jesus" uses a similar process but in the opposite direction (starting from the fully developed accout and going back to the historical Jesus).

And Michael Grant, renown scholar on the Roman Empire, provides a critical analysis in his older book, "JESUS: AN HISTORIAN'S REVIEW OF THE GOSPELS". His is simple and straightforward and treats all the source amterial like a true historian.

All of these works are good for the lay reader interested in the subject of Jesus the Jewish apocalypticist.