New York Times bestselling author and Bible expert Bart Ehrman reveals how Jesus’s divinity became dogma in the first few centuries of the early church.The claim at the heart of the Christian faith is that Jesus of Nazareth was, and is, God. But this is not what the original disciples believed during Jesus’s lifetime—and it is not what Jesus claimed about himself. How Jesus Became God tells the … Became God tells the story of an idea that shaped Christianity, and of the evolution of a belief that looked very different in the fourth century than it did in the first.
A master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, Ehrman reveals how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty, Creator of all things. But how did he move from being a Jewish prophet to being God? In a book that took eight years to research and write, Ehrman sketches Jesus’s transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus’s followers had visions of him after his death—alive again—did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today.
Written for secular historians of religion and believers alike, How Jesus Became God will engage anyone interested in the historical developments that led to the affirmation at the heart of Christianity: Jesus was, and is, God.
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“How Jesus Became God,” by Bart D. Ehrman, is an eye-opening historical expose on the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, written for the current generation of seekers and disillusioned Christians who are looking for the “real” answers to the question of Jesus’ life, and his death, and the questions surrounding his possible resurrection and …
Comprehensive study about the early church from apostolic times through the first few centuries. This book takes the lay person step-by-step through the process of how the early church evolved in its understanding of who Jesus was.
Great book for believers and non-believers alike.
In many books about God and religion, the authors seem to know nothing of the topic. These days it seems to me that the trend is to intellectualize God. There is probably some merit in that but it isn’t about knowing God, it’s knowing about God.
Not well researched
I had never thought about how it came about that Jesus who came from a small town in Roman Palestine came to be recognized as God. I have not read any books on Biblical Scholarship before this book. The author, an agnostic examines, the Gospels and other writings from after the crucifixion by those who followed Jesus. He also examined the writings …
I started this book mostly out of curiosity, wanting to understand the Jewish point of view,. I found the first part very interesting, but when the claims began stating that the new testimony had no credibility because it was written long after events
accured, I was less than impressed. The entire Bible was written long after the actual events …
I wish all fundamentalist & evangelicals would read this book. It is only 1 of many exploring the historical Jesus from N.T. scholars & historians that describe how the Jesus story became embellished by word of mouth for decades before being written down by authors, known & unknown who never knew Jesus while alive. Comparing the “son of God” …
I was disappointed because it was a biased and insulting book
Eye opening.
Historical. Easy to read. Informative.
Unsubstantiated theories and conjecture. Would NOT recommend
this book is simply false and misleading.
People need to understand the history about Christianity better. I’m Christian, meaning I follow Jesus’ way, but I’m not superstitious because I understand where all these ideas come from. The author helps us understand how people co-opted his ideas and made them fit their culture, distorting them in the process. Give it a read. It could give you …
A good read on the beginnings of the Christian church’
Ehrman’s writing, totally dependent on historical sources, can be disorienting vis-a-vis what one hears from most pulpits. As such, it is both challenging and rewarding.
Had a lot of details on the timing of the bible when written and when Jesus lived.