di Fr David Birkdale
We jump back a century or so to look at the religious situation in the pagan world on the eve of St. Paul's conversion.
For further reading: “The Jewish Christians' Move from Jerusalem as a Pragmatic Choice.” Studies in Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity – Text and Context (Ed. D. Jaffé; AJEC 74; Leiden: Brill), 2010, 107–38. https://www.academia.edu/4909339/The_Jewish_Christians_Move_from_Jerusalem_as_a_Pragmatic_Choice
For further reading: Hengel, Martin. Between Jesus and Paul: Studies in the Earliest History of Christianity. Trans. John Bowden. London: SCM Press Ltd, 1983. Acts 6-7
A brief overview of Jesus' life, with special attention to what he was doing to set up the Church during his ministry.
The religious and political situation of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. Romans! Herod! Pharisees! Sadducees! Zealots! Essenes! All these and more.