Can We Trust the New Testament?: Thoughts on the Reliability of Early Christian Testimony

How did Christianity begin? Professor Wells's answer is very different from Mel Gibson's - and much more knowledgeable. The Christian cult existed before the New Testament, and brought it into being. However, this early Christianity was unlike any that exists today, it was divided into fiercely antagonistic sects, and it rapidly evolved, with leading Christians announcing as revealed truth new 'words' they believed themselves to have been given by the resurrected Jesus. Out of this turbulent mêlée of passionate, conflicting, and rapidly changing beliefs, the Church, as it grew, began to select, to edit, and to codify, stamping out dissent, rewriting its past, and creating the New Testament canon of twenty-seven documents, incorporating many layers of tradition and innovation. -- from back cover.