Why Christianity Happened: A Sociohistorical Account of Christian Origins (26-50 CE) [Paperback]

James G. Crossley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2006

“This is an important work. It makes the major advance of comparing the approaches of biblical scholars to the history of Christian origins with the approaches of historians in other periods and aspects of history. . . . Crossley’s whole discussion constitutes in its own right a significant advance in knowledge. He is crucially effective in sorting out useful insights in the secondary literature from the ideological concerns that generally dominate conventional scholarship.” —Maurice Casey, Professor of New Testament Languages and Literature, University of Nottingham, UK “The reasons why Christianity included people who were no longer observing major commandments were largely social rather than the result of an individual genius like a Jesus or a Paul finding ‘something wrong’ with Jewish law. But these social reasons for the shift from a law-observant movement to one that included people no longer observing the law require a full explanation. This book is an attempt to do just that.” —from the introduction 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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Crossley lectures in the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield. His recent publications include The Date of Mark’s Gospel: Insight from the Law in Earliest Christianity and Writing History, Constructing Religion, which he coedited with Christian Karner.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (November 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664230946
• ISBN-13: 978-0664230944
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,533,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, August 21, 2009

By 

Johnny P (U.K.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Christianity Happened: A Sociohistorical Account of Christian Origins (26-50 CE) (Paperback)

I felt obliged to write a review since the other review is so completely inaccurate and biased in itself.

This book is so full of academe and research that it is in danger of being dry! The book makes some very interesting comments on the bias of Biblical scholarship, which has plagued the discipline for some considerable time.

It is a thorough look at the socio-economic context in which Christianity was born, showing the climate of Galilee that helped define the political stage, and the way in which fledgling cults and religions grow, and in what social climate.

Good and thorough, though perhaps top heavy on the nature of Jewish law and how Christianity neede to move away from this to have universal appeal.

4 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Leftist View of Christianity's Origins, February 10, 2007

By 

D. Showley "Orange County Big Dee" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Christianity Happened: A Sociohistorical Account of Christian Origins (26-50 CE) (Paperback)

I was so excited to recieve this book; however, I quickly discovered that in my opinion, it is not scholarly. I also quickly stopped reading the book! If you enjoy biased nonsense, buy it!