Gerd Ludemann is Professor of New Testament at the University of Gottingen and the author of Virgin Birth? The Real Story of Mary and Her Son Jesus, also published by Trinity Press. Martina Janssen is his academic assistant.

Review by Matthew R. Hauge, Azusa Pacific University, in Religious Studies Review

• Preface; Preliminary Remarks; 1. An Overview of the Demarcation of Primitive Christianity: The Task and the Method of Description; 2. A Survey and Critique of Recent Conventional Reconstructions of Primitive Christianity; 3. A Survey and Critique of Recent Studies in the Social History of Primitive Christianity; 4. A Survey and Critique of Recent Studies in Primitive Christianity from the Perspective of Feminist Theology; 5. A Survey and Critique of Recent Studies in the Environment of Primitive Christianity; 6. A Survey and Critique of Recent Studies in Primitive Christianity in the Different Centres of Rome; a) Antioch; b) Roma; c) Macedonia; d) Ephesus and Asia Minor; 7. A Survey and Critique of Recent Studies of Individual Problems; Conclusion; Appendices; I. On the Problem of Pre-Christian Gnosticism; II. Gerd Theissen's A Theory of Primitive Christian Religion; Bibliography of work's Discussed; Index of Authors