The Beginnings of Christianity

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Recently discovered and deciphered texts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library, suggest that the boundaries between early Christian belief, Jewish tradition, and the ancient pagan Mysteries are not as well defined as has usually been believed. During the early centuries after Christ, Gnostic Christians tried to preserve the archaic Mysteries as a way to knowledge (gnosis) of higher cosmic truths. The Gnostic sects were finally suppressed by an authoritarian Church that would not tolerate deviation from the established Christian teachings.

The first chronicle of the Christian church, written in the early 4th century by the bishop of Palestine, and concentrating on the Eastern church and the defeat of heresy.... story of Christianity in its struggle against persecutors and heretics.

The History of the Church From Christ to Constantine

A wonderful, beautifully written and challenging book, surely the best one-volume introduction to the subject. The Antichrist as an essential figure of Christian faith from the early Christian communities to the apocalyptic visions of contemporary fundamentalists. A richly detailed illustrated history of "Christ's alter ego".

Satan : The Early Christian Tradition:

...the book's sweep is grand. A tour of the first five centuries of Christian intellectual history with the spotlight on the villain instead of the hero....Satan is a valuable introduction to the theological portion of the Western Devil tradition. A Reader's Catalog Selection of the 40,000+ best books in print.

Satan : The Early Christian Tradition

Four revealing Christian texts founded in 1945 in Egypt which provide invaluable information about the character of the early Church. In December 1945, two Egyptian fellahin, digging in the Nile River valley, unearthed a sealed storage jar. The jar proved to hold treasure of an unexpected sort: a collection of some fifty-two ancient manuscripts...The texts are, with few exceptions, Christian documents, and thus they provide us with valuable new information about the character of the early church.-- the Secret Book of James, the Gospel of Thomas, the Book of Thong, and the Secret Book of John.

The Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century:

The first volume of the highly-praised landmark trilogy The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism. "A book to be treasured."

Foundations of Mysticism: Orgins to the Fifth Century, Vol. 1

Was this gospel written much later than other gospels and is it authentic? This book argues that terms of self-designation, use of controversial vocabulary, style, hermeneutic strategies, and theological commitments together present persuasive evidence of derivation from multiple sectarian milieux.

The Ancient Mysteries:

...contains a very balanced selection of sources for the study of the ancient so-called mystery religions, starting with Eleusis and ending with mysteries in Judaism and Christianity. . . . No other modern sourcebook exists in this field. Therefore this book fills a gap not only in the area of late antiquity and early Christianity, but also in the field of history of religions in general. ...based on careful reading of the original texts in their original languages. It is a competent, intelligent, and sympathetic study of which the original conclusions deserve careful consideration.

The Ancient Mysteries: A SourceBook of Sacred Texts