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Tables of Contents for The Religion of the Earliest Churches
Chapter/Section Title
Page #
Page Count
Preface
xiii
Translator's note
xv
Introduction: The Programme of a Theory of Primitive Christian Religion
1
18
The `essence' of religion: religion as a cultural sign system
2
5
The function of religion: religion as the promise of a gain in life
7
6
Basic problems of a theory of primitive religion
13
6
Part One: Myth and History in Primitive Christianity
19
42
The Significance of the Historical Jesus for the Origin of Primitive Christian Religion
The Revitalization of the Jewish Religion by Jesus
21
2
Myth in the preaching of the historical Jesus
23
4
The `historical' transformation of myth
24
1
The `poetic' transformation of myth
25
1
The `political' transformation of myth
25
2
The ethic of Judaism and the preaching of Jesus
27
4
The Jewish rites and the preaching of Jesus
31
3
The political situation of Judaism and the historical Jesus
34
3
Myth and Jesus' understanding of himself
37
7
How Did Jesus Come to be Deified?
The Transformation of the Jewish Sign System by Post-Easter Belief in Christ
41
3
The exaltation of Jesus as a way of surmounting dissonance
44
3
The exaltation of Jesus as the intensification of the basic conviction of monotheism
47
2
The exaltation of Jesus as the outdoing of competition
49
12
Outdoing power through exaltation
50
4
Outdoing salvation through nearness
54
7
Part Two: The Ethics of Primitive Christianity
61
58
The Two Basic Values of the Primitive Christian Ethic: Love of Neighbour and Renunciation of Status
63
18
Love of neighbour as the first basic value in primitive Christianity
64
7
Tendencies towards extension in primitive Christianity
66
2
Tendencies towards restriction in primitive Christianity
68
3
Renunciation of status as the second basic value in primitive Christianity
71
7
Renunciation of status in the Synoptic tradition
75
1
Humility focussed on mutuality in the epistolary literature
76
2
The primitive Christian `myth' and the two basic values of primitive Christianity
78
3
Dealing with Power and Possessions in Primitive Christianity. Ethical Demands in the Light of the Two Basic Values: I
81
19
A change of value in dealing with power and rule
84
5
A change of value in dealing with possessions and wealth
89
11
Dealing with Wisdom and Holiness in Primitive Christianity. Ethical Demands in the Light of the Two Basic Values: II
100
19
A change of value in dealing with wisdom
101
6
A change of value in dealing with holiness and cleanness
107
12
Part Three: The Ritual Sign Language of Primitive Christianity
119
42
The Origin of the Primitive Christian Sacraments from Symbolic Actions
121
18
The ritual sign language of primitive Christianity as a whole
122
4
Symbolic actions as preliminary forms of the sacraments
126
2
The transformation of prophetic symbolic actions into primitive Christian sacraments
128
11
The reference to the death of Jesus
129
2
The tension between outward performance and religious significance
131
1
The crossing of taboo thresholds in the primitive Christian sacraments
132
7
The Sacrificial Interpretation of the Death of Jesus and the End of Sacrifice
139
22
The replacement of sacrifice in the primitive Christian period
139
3
The sacrifical interpretation of the death of Jesus
142
9
Self-stigmatization in the life and teaching of Jesus
143
1
The interpretations of the death of Jesus in primitive Christianity
144
3
The incorporation of the resurrection into the interpretation of the death of Jesus
147
4
The functions of traditional sacrifice
151
5
Methodological reflections
151
2
The functions of sacrifice
153
3
Primitive Christian sign language as a functional equivalent of the traditional sacrifices
156
5
Part Four: Primitive Christian Religion as an Autonomous Sign World
161
46
The Way from Primitive Christian Religion to an Autonomous Sign World
From Paul to the Synoptic Gospels
163
2
The beginning of the development towards the autonomy of primitive Christian religion: the Apostolic Council and Paul
165
4
The way to the autonomy of primitive Christian religion and the Synoptic Gospels
169
16
The Gospel of Mark: the ritual demarcation from Judaism
171
4
The Gospel of Matthew: the ethical demarcation from Judaism (and paganism)
175
4
The Gospel of Luke: the narrative-historical demarcation from Judaism
179
6
The Gospel of John: The Internal Autonomy of the Primitive Christian Sign World is Brought to Consciousness
185
22
The programme of the Johannine hermeneutic-in-stages in the prologue
186
3
The implementation of the Johannine hermeneutic-in-stages
189
11
The transformation of the mythical sign system in the Gospel of John
190
2
The transformation of the ritual sign language in the Gospel of John
192
4
The transformation of the ethical sign language in the Gospel of John
196
4
The self-organization of the primitive Christian sign system in the Gospel of John
200
7
The reorganization of the traditional sign elements and forms of expression
201
3
The pre-organization of the future sign language in the Gospel of John
204
3
Part Five: The Crises and Consolidation of Primitive Christianity
207
101
The Crises of Primitive Christianity
209
40
The Judaistic crisis in the first century
211
20
The basic axioms of Judaism: monotheism and covenantal nomism and the aporias of Judaism
212
5
The doctrine of justification in the life of Paul
217
3
The historical and political causes of the crisis in the first century
220
3
The Judaistic crisis and the response of Pauline theology
223
8
The Gnostic crisis in the second century
231
9
What is Gnosticism? An attempt at a definition
231
1
The historical context of Gnosticism as a universal movement
232
3
Christian Gnosticism
235
5
The prophetic crises in the first and second centuries
240
9
The Jesus movement and the Logia source
240
2
The Revelation of John
242
3
The Shepherd of Hermas
245
1
The new prophecy of Montanism
246
3
Plurality and Unity in Primitive Christianity and the Origin of the Canon
249
37
Plurality in Christianity up to the formation of the canon
252
9
Conflicts and groupings in the first generation
253
1
Four basic currents in the second generation
254
3
Early catholic church Christianity and its controversy with `heresies'
257
4
The formation of the canon as a confession of plurality
261
10
The decision to divide the canon as a whole into Old and New Testaments
261
2
The decision to divide the New Testament into a gospel part and an apostle part
263
1
The decision for the fourfold Gospel
264
4
The decision for the letters of Paul and the Catholic letters
268
3
The inner canon within the canon: the grammar of primitive Christian faith
271
15
Conclusion: The Construction and Plausibility of the Primitive Christian Sign World
286
22
The construction of primitive Christian religion: a summary
286
6
The plausibility of primitive Christian religion
292
16
Experience of the world as a source of evidence: the axioms of primitive Christianity make a dynamic view of the world possible
295
4
Correspondence to the self as a source of evidence: the axioms of primitive Christianity and the religious a priori
299
4
Correspondence to other people as a source of evidence: the power of the axioms of primitive Christianity in forming a community
303
5
Bibliography
308
15
Notes
323
52
Index of References to the Bible and Other Ancient Texts
375
11
General Index
386