Unexplored implications of the diversity of early belief in Jesus

Abstract

The Christian canonical and authoritative texts are the result of complex and layered trajectories and should be understood to reflect - for the most part, debates within the Jesus movement—not struggles with external religious communities. Unexplored implications of the diversity of early belief in Jesus emerge out of deconstructing these debates. Contrary to traditional views and despite a complexity and a variety of contexts, Judaism, Gnosticism, and Paganism were not participants in this struggle. They were the subjects of a debate, (mostly) among Gentile believers, about what belief in Jesus should be.