...to a remarkable extent early-second-century protoorthodox devotion to jesus represents a concern to preserve, respect, promote, and develop what were by then becoming traditional expressions of belief and reverence, and that had originated in earlier years of the christian movement. that is, proto-orthodox faith tended to affirm and develop devotional and confessional tradition [...] arland hultgren has shown that the roots of this appreciation of traditions of faith actually go back deeply and widely into first-century christianity.