This second edition includes virtually every piece produced during the first 100 years of Christian history. Ehrman shows how the canon of the New Testament was formulated and how other texts were excluded from the canon. He also provides brief up-to-date introductions to each of the texts.

This is the second edition of the most comprehensive anthology available on early Christian writing, which includes virtually every piece produced during the first 100 years of Christian history. Ehrman provides an opening general introduction in which he shows how the canon of the New Testament was formulated and how other texts were excluded from the canon. He also provides brief up-to-date introductions to each of the texts, incorporating the most recent scholarship. For this edition the Martyrdom of Polycarp has been added and many of the older translations have been replaced with newer and more up-to-date versions.