"A genuine possibility of reimagining how Christianity began has now come into view. Based within the fields of discourse that have come forth in the last forty years, this book proposes ways that the study of Christian origins can paint subtle and complex pictures of the first centuries of Christianity." "Taking as inspiration the work of Burton L. Mack - upon whose sixty-fifth birthday, this volume is issued - Reimagining Christian Origins provides an introduction to and an analysis of the emerging methodologies of the field and presents nineteen new examples of scholars at work in this field." "The book is divided into four parts: (1) Reimagining the Social Formation of Early Christian Communities, (2) Reimagining the Galilean Movements, (3) Reimagining the Emergence of Christian Myth, and (4) Reimagining Christianity in the Mediterranean World."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved