Chapter 8: Letters from the Apostles Summary and Analysis

By the second century C.E. a kind of "centrist" Christian movement had arisen, according to Mack. These centrist congregations accepted the myth of the Christ, but also recognized Jesus as a wise teacher. They recognized themselves as a distinct community, but also thought of themselves as the heirs of the Jewish traditions. They anticipated an apocalyptic second coming, but developed a code for living in the real world until that time came.

The leaders of these centrist congregations were troubled by the more extreme teachings of other Jesus movements and Christian groups and sought to create a direct connection between their beliefs and the historical Jesus in order to support their own interpretation of the Christian mythologies.

The method they used was the Greek tradition of tracing a school of philosophy back...