Over the past 30 years, several studies have attempted to classify ancient Jewish and Christian groups in the world of contemporary associations. There still are major fundamental objections raised to their findings. Often, unreflective premises end up in conflict. This book presents the debate and tries to clarify the question of what can be explained through historical comparison and what cannot.

B. Eckhardt, University of Edinburgh, UK, C. Leonhard, University of Münster, Germany, P. A. Harland, York University, Toronto, Canada.