Did the First Christians Worship Jesus?: The New Testament Evidence

James D. G. Dunn

Jul 2010 · Westminster John Knox Press

About this eBook

To answer the title question effectively requires more than the citing of a few texts; we must first acknowledge that the way to the answer is more difficult than it appears and recognize that the answer may be less straightforward than many would like. The author raises some fascinating yet vexing questions: What is worship? Is the fact that worship is offered to God (or a god) what defines him (or her) as "G/god?" What does the act of worship actually involve? The conviction that God exalted Jesus to his right hand obviously is central to Christian recognition of the divine status of Jesus. But what did that mean for the first Christians as they sought to reconcile God's status and that of the human Jesus? Perhaps the worship of Jesus was not an alternative to worship of God but another way of worshiping God. The questions are challenging but readers are ably guided by James Dunn, one of the world's top New Testament scholars.

Ratings and reviews

Borrowed this from my local library. Fantastic read, I put it in my top 3 all-time. Felt I learned much about Jesus, his purpose in the world, his relationship to God, and how we ought to worship God. One thing I appreciated in particular was how genuine and unbiased Dunn comes off. You can sense it from the first chapter. Push through the first couple chapters, and the book really starts to heat up, in my opinion. First couple chapters aren't 'bad', but does take him some legwork in defining and researching some terms, to set up the last 2/3 of the book to shine.

About the author

James D. G. Dunn is Lightfoot Professor Emeritus ofDivinity atthe University of Durham in England.He is one of the world'spremier New Testament scholars.