Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-332) and indexes.

I believe in yesterday -- The Gospel behind the Gospels -- Oral tradition and a memorizing culture -- An eccentric Jesus and the criteria of authenticity -- Politically corrupt? the tainting of ancient New Testament texts -- Can we trust the New Testament? The quantity and quality of textual variants -- Myths about manuscripts -- An embarrassment of riches : recovering the wording of the original New Testament text, part 1 -- The methods of textual criticism : recovering the wording of the original New Testament text, part 2 -- Is what we have now what they wrote then? -- Did the early church muzzle the canon? -- The range of the canon -- What did the ancient church think of forgeries? -- What did the ancient forgers think of Christ? -- The divinity of Jesus : early tradition or late superstition? -- Divine portraits : Jesus in the Gospels -- Supreme devotion : Jesus in the larger New Testament -- From the pens of fathers and foes : Jesus outside the New Testament -- Simply divine? the real issue at Nicea -- Stealing thunder : did Christianity rip off mythical gods? -- Parallelomania : supposed links between Christianity and pagan religions -- The virgin birth of Alexander the great? -- Osiris, Frankenstein, and Jesus Christ.