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

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.