Why Christianity Happened: A Sociohistorical Account of Christian Origins (26-50 Ce)

by Crossley, James G.

• ISBN13: 9780664230944
• ISBN10: 0664230946
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-23
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

Looking beyond theological narratives and offering a sociological, economic, and historical examination of the spread of earliest Christianity, James Crossley presents a thoroughly secular and causal explanation for why the once law-observant movement within Judaism became the beginnings of a new religion. First analyzing the historiography of the New Testament and stressing the problematic omission of a social scientific account, Crossley applies a socioeconomic lens to the rise of the Jesus movement and the centrality of sinners to his mission. Using macrosociological approaches, he explains how Jesus' Jewish teachings sparked the shift toward a gentile religion and an international monotheistic trend. Finally, using approaches from conversion studies, he provides a sociohistorical explanation for the rise of the Pauline mission.

Author Biography

James G. Crossley is Lecturer in New Testament Studies in the Department of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield, England.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	xiii
1 Toward a Secular Approach to Christian Origins: The Use of the Social Sciences in New Testament Scholarship	1	(34)
2 Peasant Unrest and the Emergence of Jesus' Specific View of the Law	35	(40)
3 Jesus and the Sinners	75	(22)
4 From Jewish Sinners to Gentile Sinners: The Beginnings of the Spread of Earliest Christianity	97	(45)
5 Recruitment, Conversion, and Key Shifts in Law Observance: The Origins of the Pauline Mission	142	(31)
Conclusion	173	(4)
Notes	177	(38)
Scripture and Ancient Source Index	215	(10)
Author Index	225	(6)
Subject Index	231