To the Origins of Christianity: Text, Context, Reading Under "Grand Narrative," Ton Veerkamp summarizes a foundational story recognized and acknowledged by the majority of society's members, in which they see their individual life stories intertwined, granting them a place in society and internalizing the basic social structure along with its loyalties and dependencies. Thus, all major folk religions are Grand Narratives. Reading ancient texts from a foreign culture requires knowledge of their socio-economic, political, and ideological environment on one hand, and the structure of the texts themselves on the other. "The Transformation of the Grand Narrative" accomplishes both. It illustrates the history of a foundational text of Western culture, beginning with the first destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BCE and concluding with the final one.