Burton L. Mack was an American author and scholar of early Christian history and the New Testament. He was John Wesley Professor emeritus in early Christianity at the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California. Mack was primarily a scholar of Christian origins, approaching it from the angle of social group formation. Mack's approach was skeptical, and he saw traditional Christian documents like the Gospels as myth as opposed to history. He viewed the gospels more as charter documents of the early Christian movements, not as reliable accounts of the life of Jesus.

Claremont School of Theology (CST) is a private graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Los Angeles, California. It is an official theological school of the United Methodist Church. Although it is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, it is accredited with a "notice of concern"; it is also accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS).