Originally published in 1929, this book contains the first of three volumes on the origin and progress of the Christian faith.

General preface; Part I. The Jewish People and their Faith: 1. The sources of our knowledge; 2. The Semites; 3. Hebrew origins; 4. The rise of the prophets; 5. The later prophets; 6. The rise of Judaism; 7. Judaism and Hellenism; 8. Faith and reason: some urgent problems; 9. The future (eschatology); 10. The coming of Jesus Christ; Bibliography; Part II. The Earliest Christian Church: Author's preface; 1. The experience of the first disciples; 2. The theology of the first disciples; 3. Opposition and expansion; 4. General conditions in the Gentile world; 5. The main points in the teaching of St Paul: (1) union with Christ and its results; 6. The main points in the teaching of St Paul: (2) baptism and the Lord's supper; 7. The admission of the Gentiles and the further expansion of the church; 8. The transmutation of first hopes; 9. The daily life of the Christian; 10. From St Paul to St John: the beginnings of Christian philosophy; Part III. Early Traditions about Jesus: 1. What the Gospels are and how they came to be; 2. The actual life of Jesus as set out in Mark and Q; 3. The way of life and the way of teaching chosen by Jesus; 4. What Jesus thought about God and the kingdom of God; 5. What Jesus thought about the world and man's place in it; 6. The sermon on the mount; 7. The narratives of miracles; 8. Crucifixion and the resurrection; 9. Popular opinion about Jesus in his lifetime; 10. The stories of the birth and childhood of Jesus. The church and the sacraments.