How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God?: Historical Questions about Earliest Devotion to Jesus - Softcover

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Larry Hurtado (1943-2019) was professor emeritus of New Testament language, literature, and theology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He established the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins and also served on the international advisory board for the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts.

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In "How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God?" Larry Hurtado investigates the intense devotion to Jesus that emerged with surprising speed after his death. Reverence for Jesus among early Christians, notes Hurtado, included both grand claims about Jesus' significance and a pattern of devotional practices that effectively treated him as divine. This book argues that whatever one makes of such devotion to Jesus, the subject deserves serious historical consideration.

Mapping out the lively current debate about Jesus, Hurtado explains the evidence, issues, and positions at stake. He goes on to treat the opposition to -- and severe costs of -- worshiping Jesus, the history of incorporating such devotion into Jewish monotheism, and the role of religious experience in Christianity's development out of Judaism. The follow-up to Hurtado's award-winning "Lord Jesus Christ" (2003), this book provides compelling answers to queries about the development of the church's belief in the divinity of Jesus.