Markus Öhler, History of Early Christianity: Religion, Culture, Identity, trans. Jason Valdez (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2025)
In this work, Öhler’s goal is to provide an introductory textbook to the history of early Christianity from its beginnings with the ministry of Jesus to AD 135, the Bar Kokhba Revolt. To achieve this end, he dispenses with footnotes and “the usual formulations of historical research (‘probably,’ ‘possibly,’ etc.)” (xii). To allow the reader to delve deeper into various events and aspects of early Christianity and its world, Öhler provides a list of suggested readings at the end of each section. Along these same lines, he places helpful small summaries on the side of each page describing the topic he addresses. Öhler organizes his work into sixteen chapters and places a list of abbreviations and four indices at the end.
The first chapter (“Basic Questions of a History of Early Christianity,” 1–8) describes the academic study of Christianity, discusses the terms and sources that Öhler uses, and sets the chronological framework for the work.
In the second chapter (“The Greco-Roman World: Power Structures, Society, and Religion,” 9–36), Öhler explores various components of the pagan world in which the Christian movement began.
The third chapter (“The Religion and Culture of the Judeans: Judaism in the Early Imperial Era,” 37–60) focuses on the Judean and Diaspora Jewish environment of nascent Christianity.
In the fourth chapter (“Chronology of Early Christianity,” 61–74), Öhler provides an absolute and relative chronology of the events of embryonic Christianity.
The fifth chapter (“Jesus of Nazareth,” 75–102) covers the life, ministry, death, crucifixion, and burial of Jesus, while the sixth (“The New Beginning: Easter and Pentecost,” 103–110) examines the Easter Event and Apostle’s experience of the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost after Jesus’s resurrection.
In the seventh chapter (“The First Communities in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria,” 111–34), Öhler provides a discussion of the earliest Christian communities in the Holy Land.
The eight chapter (“The Spread of Belief in Christ to Syria,” 135–48) traces the movement of Christianity from its Jewish homeland into the Gentile world in Syria.
In the ninth chapter (“Paul’s Early Years,” 149–60), Öhler reconstructs St. Paul’s life from his Diaspora origins to his early years as a missionary.
The tenth chapter (“The Ongoing Controversy of the Law and Judean Identity,” 161–78) investigates the dispute of the role of the Jewish Torah in the early Christian movement focusing on Acts 15 and Galatians 2.
In the eleventh chapter (“The Spread of the Gospel in Asia Minor and Achaea through Paul,” 179–204), Öhler traces St. Paul’s missionary travels from Acts 13 to 21, placing the first missionary journey in Acts 13 directly after the Apostolic Council in Acts 15.
The twelfth chapter (“The Pauline Ecclesiae,” 205–24) pauses from the discussion of Christianity’s spread to address various aspects of the early Christian congregations associated with St. Paul.
In the thirteenth chapter (“The Continuation and Inclusion of Judean Identity in Early Christianity from the Apostolic Council to the Bar Kokhba Revolt (47–135 CE),” 225–40), Öhler focuses on the spread of Christianity and its associated events in the Holy Land from AD 47 to 135.
The fourteenth chapter (“Early Christianity in Greco-Roman Society Between 60 and 90 CE,” 241–56) probes external events that occurred to Christians outside the Holy Land from AD 60 to 90 with a focus on persecution.
In the fifteenth chapter (“Internal Crises in Early Christianity from 60 to 135 CE,” 257–70), Öhler explores various internal matters that affected Christians from AD 60 to 135 with attention to Christian doctrine.
The final chapter, the sixteenth (“Inner Transformation in Early Christianity from 60 to 135 CE,” 271–86) examines changes from the first generation of Christians to the second and third with a focus on Church structure.
Finally, Öhler provides a helpful list of abbreviations of sources he uses throughout as well as four indices: one for names (“Index of Names,” 293–95), one for subjects (“Index of Subjects,” 296–99), one for place (“Index of Places,” 300–2), and one for ancient sources, including the Bible (“Index of Scripture and Ancient Sources,” 303–21). In addition, Öhler has three figures, eight maps, and four tables interspersed throughout the book.
Öhler’s work is clear, well-informed, and brims with the precision one expects from him. At the same time, it is concise, coming in at a total of 321 pages, well organized, especially as a reference tool, and easy to navigate. What is more, while stemming from a historical-critical framework of interpretation, Öhler’s overall conclusions are well-balanced and generally he fairly treats the interpretative, historical, and theological issues of early Christianity. In short, unlike some secular works on ancient Christianity, Öhler reads the ancient Christian (and pagan) sources for the purpose of constructing a history of early Christianity, not deconstructing the nascent religious movement.
Therefore, if you are looking for a history of early Christianity written from a secular perspective that relies on the historical-critical method of the inquiry of history, then purchase your copy from Baylor University Press by clicking here or Amazon by clicking here.
I am grateful to Baylor University Press for a gratis copy of this work, which in no way influenced by review of it.