A Reader's Guide to Bart Ehrman's How Jesus Became God
- ISBN-10
- 198303259X
- ISBN-13
- 9781983032592
- Pages
- 181
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2018-05-30
- Author
- Patrick Goggins
Description
Two stories emerge when discussing How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee by Bart D. Ehrman (New York: HarperOne, 2014). One is the rather dry academic exercise of historical Christology, which is the actual subject of the book, the other is the publisher's anticipation of controversy surrounding a new Ehrman book, simultaneously publishing a separate refutation. Please note that both books, Ehrman's How Jesus Became God, and the refutation, How God Became Jesus, are reviewed in this reader's guide.The first story, historical Christology, is Ehrman's roughly chronological presentation of how the man named Jesus of Nazareth came to be known as God almighty. Christology is the field of theology concerning the Person of the Christ. It recounts the philosophical gymnastics required when, based on the assumption of the physical resurrection, this very real flesh and blood man came to be known as God eternal. Ehrman takes us from the "lower" exaltation Christologies, where Jesus was raised to divinity by God, to the "higher" incarnation Christologies, where Jesus was God himself. This story is complicated by the early schism between the Jews and the Christians, doctrinal differences among Christians, and internal politics of the Roman Empire. While Ehrman's focus is on the intra-Christian debate, his book would have benefitted from a closer analysis of the Jewish-Christian schism and the broader socio-political context in which this debate took place. The second story is how HarperCollins, anticipating controversy, gave a group of orthodox Christian academics advance copies of How Jesus Became God, and with it an opportunity to publish a refutation simultaneously with the publication of Ehrman's book. Is this a publisher who wished to avoid the political controversy that Random House experienced (profitably) with the 2013 publication of Reza Aslan's Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth? Perhaps. More practically, it may be a publisher who wished to turn one sale into two. The refutation is reviewed in this guide, and can be purchased here. How God Became Jesus: The Real Origins of Belief in Jesus' Divine Nature---A Response to Bart D. Ehrman by Michael Bird, Craig Evans, Simon Gathercole, Charles Hill, and Chris Tilling (Zondervan 2014).This guide has three parts. Part I is a detailed discussion of How Jesus Became God, Part II is a survey of some of the early criticism of the book, including How God Became Jesus, and Part III is an independent criticism and discussion.SPOILER ALERT! This guide discusses many of Ehrman's observations and conclusions. If you are reading or intend to read How Jesus Became God, do yourself a favor, close this window, open a second tab, and purchase the book here. This reader's guide is meant to assist in reading How Jesus Became God critically, not as a substitute for reading the book. This reader's guide will not make sense unless you read it along with, or after reading, How Jesus Became God.Bible citations are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).Patrick Goggins is the author of the best-selling Reader's Guide to Reza Aslan's Zealot, available here, and the Reader's Guide to Bill O'Reilly's Killing Jesus, available here.
