This book considers the origins of Christianity through the role of ritual. It uses cognitive and evolutionary theories of ritual to provide fresh insights into the New Testament and other early Christian sources, with a particular focus on actions, cooperation, and religious teaching.

• Introduction


• 1: Ritual Theory and Early Christian Studies


• 2: Ritual, Culture, and the Human Mind: A Socio-Cognitive Approach


• 3: 'I baptize You With Water': Ritual and the Rise of Religious Movements


• 4: 'Are Any Among You Sick': Ritual, Possession, and healing


• 5: 1. 'When You Come Together': Ritual and Cooperation


• 6: Baptizing... and teaching': ritual and religious knowledge


• Concluding Remarks


• Work cited

Risto Uro is a Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies and Chair of the BA programme in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Helsinki. His research covers such areas as the Synoptic Gospels, the Nag Hammadi Library, and the social history of early Christianity. His publications include The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Ritual (2018) and Explaining Christian Origins and Early Judaism: Contributions from Cognitive and Social Science (co-edited with Petri Luomanen; 2007).