More information about the growth and spread of Christianity in the first century would be much appreciated. I very much hope that as a result of The Jesus Mysteries we will make contact with other researchers who can flesh out this meagre information. Freke and Gandy have done a marvellous job approaching this question from the present and going backwards. The Hebrew womens' attraction to Ashera and Bel runs deep, and the Essenes could be to be part of the trunk of those roots as well. It's a bit like our medical skills with the unborn.
Doctors are able to save earlier and earlier premature babies.
At the same time, other Medical Researchers are finding ways to keep fertalized eggs alive for longer and longer periods exutero. There will come a time when these two meet. Perhaps this was a Politically Incorrect inept analogy, but it is precisely that point where the past and the future meet where the initial impetus for the Jesus Mystery comes. I felt and feel more strongly as a result of your informative letter that you have tied down the earliest tangible evidence - after. I was suggestion that I would have liked to hear more about that time just before. . .