Sources of Christianity: Peter, Paul and John

The three apostles Peter, Paul and John are the most important starting point for understanding the beginnings of Christianity. Each brings a different background and language: Peter's Old Testament imagery, Paul's connection with Greek culture, and John's independent lyricism. This fascinating book paints a vivid picture of the three, exploring what they had in common as well as their significant differences, and demonstrating their continuing relevance today. The authors start by discussing the pre-Christian context, and finish by tracing the esoteric streams of Petrine, Pauline and Johannine Christianity in the first few centuries after Christ. They show above all that all three are needed to truly approach the reality of Jesus Christ.

About the Author :
Bastiaan Baan worked as a teacher in the Netherlands before being ordained as a Christian Community priest in 1981. From 2013 he was the director of the Priests’ Seminary in North America before returning to the Netherlands in 2019. He lectures widely, and has written many books, including Lord of the Elements and Old and New Mysteries, both published by Floris Books. Christine Gruwez was born in Kortrijk, Belgium, in the borderland between Flemish and French speakers. She studied classics and philosophy at Leuven University, specialising in Iranian studies. She has written on Manichaism and anthroposophy, on freedom in Islam, and on Dionysius the Areopagite. She has taught in schools in Antwerp, as well as giving lectures, workshops, seminars and writing. She is married with four daughters. John van Schaik studied at Utrecht and Antwerp, reading medieval mysticism. He wrote his doctoral thesis on Cathers and Manichaeanism. He has published many books on gnosticism, mysticism and esoteric Christianity.

Review :
'The three authors combine academic thoroughness with a lively capacity to enter imaginatively into their theme, be it the personality of leading figures in the early Christian milieu, or the socio-religious circumstances of those times. The text is accessible and at times has the power to evoke clearly that period of our collective past, which has fashioned us so particularly to be the types of human beings we are today.' -- Camphill Correspondence 'A very convenient summary of much of the early development of Christianity... The collaboration of the 'three authors' works well, for each has his or her own voice, and they admit to not necessarily agreeing with everything each has written, whilst respecting the different approaches. One can only marvel that so much history still has relevance today, as the authors make clear.' -- THE ANTHROPOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN GREAT BRITAIN