Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity

This brilliant and pioneering monograph inaugurated a new era of scholarship in the study of the New Testament and Christian origins, especially in America. It argued that early Christianity did not begin with a unified orthodox belief, from which heresies broke off at a later time. Rather, Bauer demonstrated that diversity stood at the beginning, while an orthodox church emerged only after long controversies during the early centuries. During recent decades, the investigation of newly discovered texts, such as the Gnostic Library of Nag Hammadi in Egypt, have fully confirmed Bauer’s insights. There may be numerous details, which scholars today would see differently than Walter Bauer, whose word was first published in Germany sixty years ago. Nevertheless, Bauer’s book has remained the foundation for all modern scholarship in this field, and it is must-reading for all who want to explore early Christian Communities. It is still challenging, fresh, fascinating, and thought-provoking without any question of the truly great masterpieces of New Testament scholarship.