James Tabor is Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.  He is the author of The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity, and most recently, Paul and Jesus:  How the Apostle Transformed Christianity which has just been released in paperback.   This book is an excellent introduction regarding Christian origins, particularly regarding the difference between the historical Jesus and how Paul transformed him into something completely different, the Cosmic Christ.   Read about Professor Tabor's exciting and controversial work on the TaborBlog.