TABLE OF CONTENTS -- EDITOR'S PREFACE -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER 1 Death and Personal Immortality in Israelite Religion, Judaism, and Early Christianity: A Survey of the Scholarship and Redirection -- Israelite Religion -- Early Israelite Concepts of the Soul -- Composition of the Early Israelite Soul -- The Afterlife -- Death as Punishment -- Hellenistic Judaism, Personal Immortality and the Noble Death -- A Period of Experimentation -- The Suffering Righteous -- The Hellenistic Link -- Personal Immortality -- The Philosopher's Death - A Martyrdom? A New Definition of Martyrdom -- Divisions over Nomenclature -- Martyrdom as Internecine and Intramural Discourse -- Martyrdom's Hellenistic Roots -- The Socratic Legacy -- A New Direction -- Martyrological Thought in the New Testament Canon -- Martyrological Thought From the Second Century Onward -- Conclusion-"Any last words?" -- CHAPTER 2 Martyrdom and Personal Immortality in the New Testament -- The Undisputed Letters of Paul -- The Gospel of Mark -- The Gospel of Matthew -- The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles (Luke-Acts) -- Timothy -- I Peter -- Miscellaneous Authors of the New Testament -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER 3 Martyrological Thinkers of the Post- canonical Period, Encompassing the Second and Third Centuries and That of the ' Great Divide' -- Ignatius of Antioch -- Clement of Alexandria -- Tertullian -- Origen of Alexandria -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER 4 The Post-canonical Acta Traditions -- Polycarp -- Carpus, Papylus and Agathonike -- Saints Ptolemaeus and Lucius -- Justin and His Companions -- Lyons -- Scillitan -- Apollonius -- Perpetua and Felicitas -- Potamiaina and Basilides -- Pionius -- St. Cyprian -- Fructuosus and His Deacons -- St. Conon -- Marinus -- Maximilian -- Marcellus -- Julius the Veteran -- Felix -- Dasius -- Agapê, Irenê, Chionê -- Irenaeus.

Crispina -- The Acts of Euplus -- Letter of Phileas -- Acts of Phileas -- Forty Martyrs -- Conclusion -- CONCLUSION -- BIBLIOGRAPHY.