The Christian Religion: Volume 1, The Rise of the Christian Church
Its Origin and Progress

Originally published in 1929, this book contains the first of three volumes on the origin and progress of the Christian faith from its origins in Judaism until the early twentieth century. Volume one reviews the Jewish faith and the elements contained within it which gave rise to some of the key tenets of Christianity, as well as the earliest days of the Christian church and early traditions surrounding the life and teachings of Jesus. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of Christianity and its ties to Judaism.

General preface; Part I. The Jewish People and their Faith: 1. The sources of our knowledge; 2. The Semites; 3. Hebrew origins; 4. The rise of the prophets; 5. The later prophets; 6. The rise of Judaism; 7. Judaism and Hellenism; 8. Faith and reason: some urgent problems; 9. The future (eschatology); 10. The coming of Jesus Christ; Bibliography; Part II. The Earliest Christian Church: Author's preface; 1. The experience of the first disciples; 2. The theology of the first disciples; 3. Opposition and expansion; 4. General conditions in the Gentile world; 5. The main points in the teaching of St Paul: (1) union with Christ and its results; 6. The main points in the teaching of St Paul: (2) baptism and the Lord's supper; 7. The admission of the Gentiles and the further expansion of the church; 8. The transmutation of first hopes; 9. The daily life of the Christian; 10. From St Paul to St John: the beginnings of Christian philosophy; Part III. Early Traditions about Jesus: 1. What the Gospels are and how they came to be; 2. The actual life of Jesus as set out in Mark and Q; 3. The way of life and the way of teaching chosen by Jesus; 4. What Jesus thought about God and the kingdom of God; 5. What Jesus thought about the world and man's place in it; 6. The sermon on the mount; 7. The narratives of miracles; 8. Crucifixion and the resurrection; 9. Popular opinion about Jesus in his lifetime; 10. The stories of the birth and childhood of Jesus. The church and the sacraments.