Walter H. Bauer

Walter H. Bauer was a distinguished biblical scholar best known for his work on early Christian history and the development of Christian texts. His most influential work, *Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity* (1934), analyzes how different Christian groups during the first few centuries competed and defined their beliefs, often through the creation and collection of texts. Bauer emphasized the diversity and complexity of early Christianity, challenging earlier notions of a single, unified faith. His insights help us understand how Christian doctrines and scriptures evolved amid various competing ideas and communities.