The following is an excerpt by James D. Tabor and Simcha Jacobovici, authors of The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find That Reveals the Bir...

How did followers of Jesus move from a religion focused upon Israel's God and God's kingdom to a religion devoted to the person of Jesus? For many, the Apostle Paul fills that gap.

An early church meeting must have been a wild scene. Almost all churches included masters and their own slaves, the rich and the destitute, tradespersons and menial laborers.

For Christians today reading it as insiders, the text may evoke nods of approval at some memorable statements by Jesus. Start poking around a bit, though, and a host of questions arises.

The New Testament's very existence testifies to how passionately the earliest Christians kept in touch with one another. It largely emerged organically.

An entirely different type of conqueror also profoundly affected these Mediterranean lands. I am talking about the first Christians who arrived in the first century.