In this collection of provocative and ambitious essays, participants in the SBL's Seminar on Ancient Myths and Modern Theories of Christian Origins challenge traditional paradigms and reimagine the beginnings of Christian religion. Rather than assume that the gospel story has its foundation in the historical Jesus, a human encounter with transcendence, or the dramatic religious experience of individuals, contributors make use of social anthropology and propose that the beginnings of Christianity can be understood as reflexive social experiments. The first of three proposed volumes that launch a new and genuinely critical discourse about the history of early Christianities. Contributors include William E. Arnal, Willi Braun, Ron Cameron, Barry S. Crawford, Arthur J. Dewey, Burton L. Mack, Luther H. Martin, Christopher R. Matthews, Merrill P. Miller, Dennis E. Smith, Jonathan Z. Smith, and Stanley K. Stowers. Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)