This volume is rooted in the cooperation that began ten years ago with email correspondence in which we were exchanging ideas about what was then our common interest, namely New Testament apocryphal literature. Almost accidentally we found out that we had another, more recent common interest related to a new emerging field in religious studies: the cognitive science of religion. We started to feed each other with suggestions for reading, new ideas, and tentative applications of cognitive theories to early Christian materials. Gradually we also learned that we were not alone with our excitement about the new methodology, but a few other biblical scholars in Europe and North America were developing similar research questions and analyses, which utilized various studies on the cognitive and evolutionary roots of human religious thought and behavior. Many of these colleagues are contributors to this volume. Relatively soon the cooperation grew from an informal exchange of ideas between like-minded scholars into a series of joint projects, including program units, workshops, and academic networks, which we describe in more detail in Chapter 1.

We are deeply indebted for the creative enthusiasm and pioneering spirit that have enabled these collective enterprises. We would like to thank especially the cognitive scientists of religion who have on various occasions given valuable support to our attempts to develop cognitive approaches to biblical materials: Joseph Bulbulia, Armin Geertz, Tom Lawson, Ilkka Pyysiäinen, and Harvey Whitehouse.