Abstract:
In this paper an attempt is made to gain a picture of the earliest stages
of the Christian movement subsequent to Jesus' public ministry. Observations
about methodological matters are made and this is followed by a
brief discussion of a possible scenario regarding the earliest Christian
groups. Some suggestions are also made with regard to the utilization of
other disciplines such as social science methodology (with special reference
to small group theories and sociolinguistics) which could be extremely
helpful in obtaining a clearer picture of the earliest stages of the
Christian movement
