Saw this great article, backgrounding the beginnings of christianity, on Australia's ABC ( a government owned-supposedly independent media group). And thought that some here may be interested in reading it.
The author is Philip Jenkins, who is Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University and Co-Director of the Program on Historical Studies of Religion at the Institute for Studies of Religion. His most recent book is The Many Faces of Christ: The Thousand-Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels.
https://www.abc.net.au/religion/a-most-violent-year-the-world-into-which-jesus-was-born/10097496