The Peculiarity of Early Christian Worship (or How Early Christians Managed to Offend Just about Everybody)
“What in the world is this Christianity thing?”
A phrase like this would not have been unusual among Romans in the first couple of centuries. In the eyes of the average citizen, Christians were an odd bunch. And what made them odd was not just what they believed. It was how (and who) they worshiped.
To be sure, worship was a big deal in the ancient world. The ancient Greco-Roman culture was very religious. Even more to the point, they were publicly religious. Worship rituals and activities were visible for all to see.
And it was precisely here that this “Christianity thing” was found to be strange and unusual. Indeed, … Continue reading...
One of the Best (and Most Overlooked) Passages that Demonstrates the Divinity of Jesus
Did the New Testament authors think Jesus was God?
Some critical scholars would say no. Jesus, they would argue, is just presented as an ordinary man who has been given an exceptional role as God’s chief emissary and representative. He is messiah perhaps. But not God.
Of course, Christians (historically speaking) have disagreed. Yes, Jesus is Messiah, but he also shares in the divine identity and is rightly accorded all the glory and honor due to God.
When it comes to demonstrating the divine status of Jesus from Scripture, the “go to” passages are not difficult to list: John 1:1; John 8:58; 1 Cor 8:6; Phil 2:1-11. These are the … Continue reading...
Five “Fake News” Stories That People Believe about Early Christianity
There’s been a lot of chatter about “fake news” in recent months. Some stories, even though they have no basis in fact, are told so often, and with such conviction, that large numbers of people end up believing them anyway.
And some of these fake news stories even dupe legitimate political figures who repeat the story without realizing it is false. And, of course, once a mainstream political figure repeats a story then it becomes even more entrenched in the national psyche.
While some of these fake news stories are rather harmless, others have become quite dangerous. Most famous perhaps is the “Pizza Gate” incident in 2016 where … Continue reading...
Did Jesus Claim To Be God?
One of the fundamental question for Christians is whether Jesus claimed to be God. Did he really present himself as divine? Did the NT authors think Jesus was divine?
This issue has become especially important in recent years as some scholars continue to dispute whether Jesus ever claimed such a thing. Bart Ehrman’s, How Jesus Became God (HarperOne, 2014), is a key example.
For a response to Ehrman, see my review of his book here, and the full length work edited by Michael Bird, How God Became Jesus (Zondervan, 2014) which includes contributions from a number of scholars.
I provide a brief answer to these questions in the video … Continue reading...
Destroyer of the Gods: New Book on Early Christianity by Larry Hurtado
This coming September, Larry Hurtado, Emeritus Professor of New Testament at the University of Edinburgh (and my Doktorvater), releases his latest volume, Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World (Baylor, 2016).
Larry allowed me to see a pre-published version of the book and I can tell you that it is (not surprisingly) an excellent piece of work and a fascinating look at the way early Christians fit (and didn’t fit) into their Greco-Roman context.
Although most modern Western individuals see Christianity as typical of all religions around the world (usually with the “all religions are the same” line added in for good measure), this volume … Continue reading...