The Septuagint translation of Genesis and John's Gospel both begin with the words ἐν ἀρχῇ, which in English is translated as "In the beginning." Both documents lay out what was the case in the beginning: what God did and who the Λόγος (Logos, Word) was. There was a definitive plan, a way of proceeding that went on to define Judaism and Christianity.
It would be appropriate for me to devise a way forward with this search for—definition of, understanding of—Christianity. The challenge is to know where and how to begin.
I shall approach this search as if I were coming across Christianity for the first time. It will be a challenge, for I already bring with me the influence of my upbringing and knowledge of my faith tradition. I will critically read each text to discover its purpose and to get at what early Christians believed. I will read the texts chronologically (listed according to the consensus of scholars) and have them build upon each other.
I shall use what is considered the canon of New Testament scripture since this is widely accepted as formative and normative for right Christian belief. I will also then read documents of the Early Church Fathers. This means that I will not read those document which are the so-called Apocrypha (e.g., The Gospel of Thomas).
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