Why did the form of Christianity that emerged from the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE become the accepted orthodoxy? In what ways did the religious consolidation of Christianity affect the unsuccessful varieties of Christianity? How was the formation of Christian belief influenced by various cultural and socio-political factors?

In Comparing Christianities: An Introduction to Early Christianity, April D. DeConick presents a new narrative of Christian origins that highlights the plurality of early Christian movements and their relationship to each other, Judaism, and Greco-Roman culture.

Introducing students to the multiple streams of Christian tradition from the first through the early fourth century, this unique textbook employs a sociological model of new religious movements to map the origins of Christianity, identify the similarities and differences between early Christian sects, and provide a balanced understanding of the earliest Christians and the literature they produced.

Focusing on belief and social formation, Comparing Christianities integrates all early Christian literature into a history of the first Christians to offer an inclusive gateway to the study of Christian beginnings. Thorough yet accessible chapters explore the effects of 'orthodox' and 'heretical' beliefs on Christian tradition, address questions of sex, gender, race, religious intolerance, anti-Semitism, and colonization, discuss the cognitive and social processes in the production and interpretation of early Christian literature, and more.

Comparing Christianities: An Introduction to Early Christianity is an excellent textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses on the history of early Christianity, Christian origins, the New Testament, Gnosticism, diversity in Christianity, and early Christian thought.