Unprecedented in scope and approach, The Norton Anthology of World Religions: Christianity brings together over 150 texts from the Apostolic Era to the New Millennium. The volume features Jack Miles's illuminating General Introduction--"How the West Learned to Compare Religions"--as well as Lawrence S. Cunningham's "The Words and the Word Made Flesh," a lively primer on the history and core tenets of Christianity.
This gave me a chance to become familiar with some of the famous writers/thinkers in Christian history. It was interesting to actually read some of their writings, after having read authors who quote or refer to them.