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.
Did the First Christians Worship Jesus?
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"A 'must-read.' Dunn combines an appreciation for complex issues with clarity of argument in this riveting introduction to the role and function of Jesus in the worship of God during the first century." Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Richard Dearborn Professor of New Testament Studies, Princeton Theological Seminary
"Any book by James Dunn is worth reading, and this is no exception. It is a challenging and thought-provoking book which raises central issues for Christian faith and practice." Christopher Rowland, Dean Ireland Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford
"Any book by James Dunn is worth reading, and this is no exception. It is a challenging and thought-provoking book which raises central issues for Christian faith and practice." Christopher Rowland, Dean Ireland Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford
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.
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77 of 87 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dunn Seeks to Do Justice to the Complexities of the New Testament Evidence
September 7, 2010
Format:Paperback
I probably should preface this post with a disclaimer that this should not be thought of as your typical review. I studied for my PhD under Jimmy Dunn. He is my Doktorvater, mentor and friend. I also didn't receive this book from the publisher - in fact, I ordered my copy from the UK before it was released in the US so as to have a chance to read it sooner. I also had a chance to read an earlier draft of Did The First Christians Worship Jesus? a couple of years ago and to discuss it with Jimmy and another of his former students. And when my copy of the published book arrived, I found that my own recent book on monotheism and Christology (The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context) was cited in the notes on numerous occasions. And so I make no claim to being an "impartial observer" but am rather an engaged participant in the ongoing conversation about monotheism, Christology, and worship that encompasses Jimmy, many of his former students, and a wider community of scholars as well as many others interested in the subject.
The book begins with an acknowledgment of two principal dialogue partners: Larry Hurtado and Richard Bauckham, both of whom have published numerous studies on this topic, interacting with Dunn and with one another. In posing the question that is the title of the book, and identifying his key conversation partners, Dunn also emphasizes that mere citation of texts will not answer the questions, and that his scholarly interaction with others is less a matter of "agreement" or "disagreement" than one of nuance and an attempt to bring further precision and clarity. The introduction ends with an identification of key sub-questions that will be the focus of the chapters in the remainder of the book.
Chapter 1 is on the language of worship, and addresses the breadth of the term "worship" in English as well as the range of meanings of relevant terms in Greek. Prostration (one of the key words for "worship" in the New Testament) indicated a recognition of superiority and dependence on the one to whom the gesture was being made, but the gesture itself does not consistently indicate a recognition of the divinity of the one to whom prostration is offered. And when it comes to a term that more consistently has God as its object, Dunn writes, "In no case in the New Testament is there talk of offering cultic worship (latreuein) to Jesus" (p.13). The chapter also touches on doxologies and benedictions, and includes some discussion of the degrees of reverence/devotion/veneration found in certain strands of the Christian tradition. At the end of the first chapter, Dunn is already clearly seeking to neither overstate nor downplay evidence - and having sought to be balanced, his initial answer to the question posed by the title is "'Generally no' or 'Only occasionally', or 'Only with some reserve'" (p.28).
Chapter 2 focuses on the practice of worship, and here too Dunn emphasizes that the evidence is not as clear cut as we might like. Practices such as prayer, singing, and animal sacrifice are all mentioned, as are sacred times, places and meals. Dunn draws attention to the lack of sacred sites in the New Testament (to the extent even that Jesus' tomb was not a focus of attention as a destination for pilgrimage in the New Testament literature, as far as we can tell). What is more, we have reference to priests who joined the Christian movement, but no reference to priests serving as priests within that context. And once again, "in earliest Christianity, Christ was never understood as the one to whom sacrifice was offered, even when the imagery of sacrifice was used symbolically for Christian service" (p.56). Yet Dunn also suggests that Jesus is somehow on "both sides" of the process of offering his death sacrificially. This chapter ends with the suggestion that the question posted by the book's title may perhaps be too narrow or even misleading.
Chapter 3 moves onto the topic of monotheism, heavenly mediators and divine agents. Dunn is critical of Bauckham's rejection of agency as a helpful category on the one hand, and his adoption of identity as somehow preferable (p.61). The figure of the "angel of Yahweh" provides an example of a figure who "both was God and was not God" (p. 68). Personified divine attributes like Word and Wisdom, as well as exalted human beings, are discussed.
Chapter 4 is on the Lord Jesus Christ, and begins by returning to that important and yet still too often neglected question of whether Jesus was a monotheist. This is obviously of crucial importance, since it is problematic to envision Paul undertaking a significant revision of the very Shema that Jesus affirmed as axiomatic of his own outlook and emphases.
It is in Dunn's discussion of the impression Jesus made on his disciples that I encounter the first points at which I really feel I would nuance things differently - or on one important point emphatically disagree. The latter relates to this: The Aramaic abba does not mean "daddy," but is simply the Aramaic word for "father" in the emphatic state (as the Greek translation of the term in the New Testament indicates clearly). As for nuancing things differently, Dunn states in this chapter that "John clearly felt free to attribute to Jesus words and sentiments that Jesus himself probably never uttered while on earth" (p.119). And yet in discussing how Jesus was remembered, Dunn cites the example of Jesus' authority as depicted in Matthew's "antitheses" (p.99). However, even if the latter incorporate more of Jesus' own words in something closer to their likely original form, we need to acknowledge that Matthew's portrait at this point is largely a result of the Gospel author's redactional activity, which is responsible for setting the sayings of Jesus in comparison and contrast with things found in the Jewish Law. And so it seems to me unwise to make too sharp a contrast between Matthew and John. Both represent impressions of Jesus, based to a greater or lesser extent on recollections about him; and both feel free to be creative with the words they place on Jesus' lips, once again to a greater or lesser extent. Nevertheless, it seems as though there is a widespread impression of Jesus' authority in the New Testament, which suggests that Dunn's larger point still retains its validity.
This chapter also includes treatment of key passages from Paul's letters, such as Philippians 2:6-11 and 1 Corinthians 8:6. In the latter, Dunn highlights that one God is affirmed, and what is said about the one Lord uses prepositions indicative of agency (p.109). And in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 it is felt to be particularly clear that "the kyrios title is not so much a way of identifying Jesus with God, as a way of distinguishing Jesus from God" (p.110). Dunn regards Hurtado's case for the Christ-devotion of the New Testament Christians having been controversial in their time as "surprisingly weak" (p.113), and draws attention to the lack of evidence for such controversy. Also in this chapter are treatments of the Book of Revelation, Jesus as God/god and Jesus as Last Adam.
The chapter concludes with a focused examination of Bauckham's language of "divine identity." If ancient technical terms for Trinitarian discourse such as persona tend to be misunderstood because of the difference of meaning between such ancient words in other languages and their nearest English equivalents, "identity" seems to be vague even in its current English usage (p.142). And so Dunn expresses his reservations, with a succinct summary of his concerns that is worth quoting: "I remain unclear as to the advantages that introducing 'divine identity' as they key term produces, and I remain concerned as to the dimensions and aspects of New Testament christology that the term 'identity' pushes to the side" (p.143). Returning to Paul's language, to the extent that Jesus shares in the "divine identity," Paul's language (and once again in particular the prepositions he uses) suggests that sharing of identity partial, with Jesus sharing in divine roles of agency but not as source (p.144).
The book's conclusion emphasizes that Christian monotheism, however much it has an important Christological aspect, should remain monotheism. The danger of "Jesus-olatry" is discussed (p.147). And in the end Dunn offers a negative answer to the question the book's title poses, while nevertheless seeking to highlight ways in which going too far in the other direction would also be problematic (p.151).
I hope it is clear from my summary that this book is full of rich and insightful content. Regular readers of Dunn's books will expect nothing less, and will not be at all disappointed. Did the first Christians worship Jesus? asks an important question, and Dunn's nuanced answers to this main question and key sub-questions make an important contribution to the ongoing scholarly conversation about monotheism, Christology and worship.
I would add here the final paragraph of the book, from p.151, to give readers a fuller sense of where Dunn is coming from and how he views things:
"So our central question can indeed be answered negatively, and perhaps it should be. But not if the result is a far less adequate worship of God. For the worship that really constitutes Christianity and forms its distinctive contribution to the dialogue of the religions, is the worship of God as enabled by Jesus, the worship of God as revealed in and through Jesus. Christianity remains a monotheistic faith. The only one to be worshipped is the one God. But how can Christians fail to honor the one through whom it believes the only God has most fully revealed himself, the one through whom the only God has come closest to the condition of humankind? Read more ›
The book begins with an acknowledgment of two principal dialogue partners: Larry Hurtado and Richard Bauckham, both of whom have published numerous studies on this topic, interacting with Dunn and with one another. In posing the question that is the title of the book, and identifying his key conversation partners, Dunn also emphasizes that mere citation of texts will not answer the questions, and that his scholarly interaction with others is less a matter of "agreement" or "disagreement" than one of nuance and an attempt to bring further precision and clarity. The introduction ends with an identification of key sub-questions that will be the focus of the chapters in the remainder of the book.
Chapter 1 is on the language of worship, and addresses the breadth of the term "worship" in English as well as the range of meanings of relevant terms in Greek. Prostration (one of the key words for "worship" in the New Testament) indicated a recognition of superiority and dependence on the one to whom the gesture was being made, but the gesture itself does not consistently indicate a recognition of the divinity of the one to whom prostration is offered. And when it comes to a term that more consistently has God as its object, Dunn writes, "In no case in the New Testament is there talk of offering cultic worship (latreuein) to Jesus" (p.13). The chapter also touches on doxologies and benedictions, and includes some discussion of the degrees of reverence/devotion/veneration found in certain strands of the Christian tradition. At the end of the first chapter, Dunn is already clearly seeking to neither overstate nor downplay evidence - and having sought to be balanced, his initial answer to the question posed by the title is "'Generally no' or 'Only occasionally', or 'Only with some reserve'" (p.28).
Chapter 2 focuses on the practice of worship, and here too Dunn emphasizes that the evidence is not as clear cut as we might like. Practices such as prayer, singing, and animal sacrifice are all mentioned, as are sacred times, places and meals. Dunn draws attention to the lack of sacred sites in the New Testament (to the extent even that Jesus' tomb was not a focus of attention as a destination for pilgrimage in the New Testament literature, as far as we can tell). What is more, we have reference to priests who joined the Christian movement, but no reference to priests serving as priests within that context. And once again, "in earliest Christianity, Christ was never understood as the one to whom sacrifice was offered, even when the imagery of sacrifice was used symbolically for Christian service" (p.56). Yet Dunn also suggests that Jesus is somehow on "both sides" of the process of offering his death sacrificially. This chapter ends with the suggestion that the question posted by the book's title may perhaps be too narrow or even misleading.
Chapter 3 moves onto the topic of monotheism, heavenly mediators and divine agents. Dunn is critical of Bauckham's rejection of agency as a helpful category on the one hand, and his adoption of identity as somehow preferable (p.61). The figure of the "angel of Yahweh" provides an example of a figure who "both was God and was not God" (p. 68). Personified divine attributes like Word and Wisdom, as well as exalted human beings, are discussed.
Chapter 4 is on the Lord Jesus Christ, and begins by returning to that important and yet still too often neglected question of whether Jesus was a monotheist. This is obviously of crucial importance, since it is problematic to envision Paul undertaking a significant revision of the very Shema that Jesus affirmed as axiomatic of his own outlook and emphases.
It is in Dunn's discussion of the impression Jesus made on his disciples that I encounter the first points at which I really feel I would nuance things differently - or on one important point emphatically disagree. The latter relates to this: The Aramaic abba does not mean "daddy," but is simply the Aramaic word for "father" in the emphatic state (as the Greek translation of the term in the New Testament indicates clearly). As for nuancing things differently, Dunn states in this chapter that "John clearly felt free to attribute to Jesus words and sentiments that Jesus himself probably never uttered while on earth" (p.119). And yet in discussing how Jesus was remembered, Dunn cites the example of Jesus' authority as depicted in Matthew's "antitheses" (p.99). However, even if the latter incorporate more of Jesus' own words in something closer to their likely original form, we need to acknowledge that Matthew's portrait at this point is largely a result of the Gospel author's redactional activity, which is responsible for setting the sayings of Jesus in comparison and contrast with things found in the Jewish Law. And so it seems to me unwise to make too sharp a contrast between Matthew and John. Both represent impressions of Jesus, based to a greater or lesser extent on recollections about him; and both feel free to be creative with the words they place on Jesus' lips, once again to a greater or lesser extent. Nevertheless, it seems as though there is a widespread impression of Jesus' authority in the New Testament, which suggests that Dunn's larger point still retains its validity.
This chapter also includes treatment of key passages from Paul's letters, such as Philippians 2:6-11 and 1 Corinthians 8:6. In the latter, Dunn highlights that one God is affirmed, and what is said about the one Lord uses prepositions indicative of agency (p.109). And in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 it is felt to be particularly clear that "the kyrios title is not so much a way of identifying Jesus with God, as a way of distinguishing Jesus from God" (p.110). Dunn regards Hurtado's case for the Christ-devotion of the New Testament Christians having been controversial in their time as "surprisingly weak" (p.113), and draws attention to the lack of evidence for such controversy. Also in this chapter are treatments of the Book of Revelation, Jesus as God/god and Jesus as Last Adam.
The chapter concludes with a focused examination of Bauckham's language of "divine identity." If ancient technical terms for Trinitarian discourse such as persona tend to be misunderstood because of the difference of meaning between such ancient words in other languages and their nearest English equivalents, "identity" seems to be vague even in its current English usage (p.142). And so Dunn expresses his reservations, with a succinct summary of his concerns that is worth quoting: "I remain unclear as to the advantages that introducing 'divine identity' as they key term produces, and I remain concerned as to the dimensions and aspects of New Testament christology that the term 'identity' pushes to the side" (p.143). Returning to Paul's language, to the extent that Jesus shares in the "divine identity," Paul's language (and once again in particular the prepositions he uses) suggests that sharing of identity partial, with Jesus sharing in divine roles of agency but not as source (p.144).
The book's conclusion emphasizes that Christian monotheism, however much it has an important Christological aspect, should remain monotheism. The danger of "Jesus-olatry" is discussed (p.147). And in the end Dunn offers a negative answer to the question the book's title poses, while nevertheless seeking to highlight ways in which going too far in the other direction would also be problematic (p.151).
I hope it is clear from my summary that this book is full of rich and insightful content. Regular readers of Dunn's books will expect nothing less, and will not be at all disappointed. Did the first Christians worship Jesus? asks an important question, and Dunn's nuanced answers to this main question and key sub-questions make an important contribution to the ongoing scholarly conversation about monotheism, Christology and worship.
I would add here the final paragraph of the book, from p.151, to give readers a fuller sense of where Dunn is coming from and how he views things:
"So our central question can indeed be answered negatively, and perhaps it should be. But not if the result is a far less adequate worship of God. For the worship that really constitutes Christianity and forms its distinctive contribution to the dialogue of the religions, is the worship of God as enabled by Jesus, the worship of God as revealed in and through Jesus. Christianity remains a monotheistic faith. The only one to be worshipped is the one God. But how can Christians fail to honor the one through whom it believes the only God has most fully revealed himself, the one through whom the only God has come closest to the condition of humankind? Read more ›
32 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Let me extend my thanks to Westminster John Knox Press for providing me a copy of James D.J. Dunn's latest, Did the First Christians Worship Jesus?
Professor Dunn is Lightfoot Professor of Divinity Emeritus at the University of Durham in England. He is the author of numerous books and writings, and is accepted as an authority in the field. He put forth the PhD candidacy of Dr. James McGrath, Butler University professor, who occasionally stops by here for a comment and who has authored a book on Christianity and monotheism, and runs the blog Exploring our Matrix. I include this in fairness, since Dr. Dunn refers to McGrath's work and opinions in various footnotes throughout his book.
I am, as most of you know, no more than a humble amateur student of the Bible. It has been my privilege to read many books over the years, written by experts, and if I have come to have some small modicum of understanding, I hope that it come forth here in reviewing this work.
The question posed by Dr. Dunn is provocative to some no doubt, and undoubtedly, some would dismiss it with a "of course they did!" and go about their business. But the question is much more tricky that might be assumed, the answer is not what I expected, and I learned a good deal that I would not have assumed.
As anyone who has taken the time to try to understand what Jesus said and what he taught knows, understanding the mind of the first century Jew is essential to that understanding. The faulty interpretations that are so prevalent among "it says what it means and means what it says" crowd stem precisely from giving 21st century meaning to translated words of 1st century Jews.
If we try to attach our means, we most assuredly will get the wrong answer. Dunn thus begins by giving us a definitional tour of the word "worship". He concludes, and I think supports well that worship as understood in that time, was reserved for God the Father alone.
In chapter two, Dr. Dunn looks at prayer, hymns, sacred space, times, meals, sacrifice, and looks to see if there were relevant portions of New Testament writings that support that in action, the early church prayed to Jesus as God and so forth. He would argue that no such things were not present in the early liturgy as such.
Jesus was present to them assuredly, and thus God. Jesus was prayed to essentially as a conduit to God. This comports well with the NT evidence that Jesus is historically remembered by the community of followers as declaring that there was One God, and of course there are numerous instances where Jesus prayed to his Father.
Probably the most useful to me of the chapters was chapter three, in which Dr. Dunn presents examples of how God in the Hebrew scriptures often appeared to humanity in the guise of angels, Spirit, Wisdom and Word. This is where we start to see a sense of the Risen Jesus as Lord.
Jewish theologians often used these agents as a means of expressing God's contact and involvement with humanity. Jesus thus emerges as mediator between God and humanity. For Judaism in no way saw those agents of God or perhaps those "personas" of God to be other Gods. They were guises in which the One God could be experienced.
Early Christians, Dunn argues, also saw Jesus in this way, as the means by which to experience God. We are reminded in Chapter four, that Jesus commanded that the two great commandments were to love God (the Shema) and to love neighbor. In various sayings, Jesus makes most clear that he is NOT God the Father, as in for instance, Mark 10.17-18, when he is addressed as "good teacher" and replies, "No one is good but God alone."
What I discern here is really valuable. We are accustomed to thinking that of course Jesus is God. We, in our simplicity, don't really get what Trinity is, but we somehow think of their appearing to be three Gods, but not really. That is about the best we can do. This of course is precisely why Judaism and Islam both charge that Christianity is not a monotheistic faith.
Dunn helps us to see that we miss the incredible awe-inspiring reality of Jesus when we simply answer yes or no with no further attention. For Jesus embodied the most complete humanity that was envisioned in the concept of being made in God's image. He was the Adam who did not fail. He was the completion, the perfection of that which was first created.
Moreover, God so exalted Jesus, that he comes to be God for us. He shows us by his life and death, resurrection and teachings, who and what God is, in the fullest sense that we humans can comprehend. As Paul suggests, it is as if seeing through a glass darkly, but at least it is not opaque.
For all practical purposes, Jesus shows us God, yet is the prism through which we view God, rather than being God himself. As such he mediates God to us, and us to God. We pray in and through him and by him to the One God.
If I have understood Dr. Dunn at all, this is what I take from his book. This to me is deeply moving and satisfying. This is a book well worth your time. It is eminently readable and while you are free to get into the "nuances" all you wish, you can feel just as satisfied with a more general reading as well. Scholars will find much here to continue the ongoing study, but the average reader will gain much spiritually from the reading.
Professor Dunn is Lightfoot Professor of Divinity Emeritus at the University of Durham in England. He is the author of numerous books and writings, and is accepted as an authority in the field. He put forth the PhD candidacy of Dr. James McGrath, Butler University professor, who occasionally stops by here for a comment and who has authored a book on Christianity and monotheism, and runs the blog Exploring our Matrix. I include this in fairness, since Dr. Dunn refers to McGrath's work and opinions in various footnotes throughout his book.
I am, as most of you know, no more than a humble amateur student of the Bible. It has been my privilege to read many books over the years, written by experts, and if I have come to have some small modicum of understanding, I hope that it come forth here in reviewing this work.
The question posed by Dr. Dunn is provocative to some no doubt, and undoubtedly, some would dismiss it with a "of course they did!" and go about their business. But the question is much more tricky that might be assumed, the answer is not what I expected, and I learned a good deal that I would not have assumed.
As anyone who has taken the time to try to understand what Jesus said and what he taught knows, understanding the mind of the first century Jew is essential to that understanding. The faulty interpretations that are so prevalent among "it says what it means and means what it says" crowd stem precisely from giving 21st century meaning to translated words of 1st century Jews.
If we try to attach our means, we most assuredly will get the wrong answer. Dunn thus begins by giving us a definitional tour of the word "worship". He concludes, and I think supports well that worship as understood in that time, was reserved for God the Father alone.
In chapter two, Dr. Dunn looks at prayer, hymns, sacred space, times, meals, sacrifice, and looks to see if there were relevant portions of New Testament writings that support that in action, the early church prayed to Jesus as God and so forth. He would argue that no such things were not present in the early liturgy as such.
Jesus was present to them assuredly, and thus God. Jesus was prayed to essentially as a conduit to God. This comports well with the NT evidence that Jesus is historically remembered by the community of followers as declaring that there was One God, and of course there are numerous instances where Jesus prayed to his Father.
Probably the most useful to me of the chapters was chapter three, in which Dr. Dunn presents examples of how God in the Hebrew scriptures often appeared to humanity in the guise of angels, Spirit, Wisdom and Word. This is where we start to see a sense of the Risen Jesus as Lord.
Jewish theologians often used these agents as a means of expressing God's contact and involvement with humanity. Jesus thus emerges as mediator between God and humanity. For Judaism in no way saw those agents of God or perhaps those "personas" of God to be other Gods. They were guises in which the One God could be experienced.
Early Christians, Dunn argues, also saw Jesus in this way, as the means by which to experience God. We are reminded in Chapter four, that Jesus commanded that the two great commandments were to love God (the Shema) and to love neighbor. In various sayings, Jesus makes most clear that he is NOT God the Father, as in for instance, Mark 10.17-18, when he is addressed as "good teacher" and replies, "No one is good but God alone."
What I discern here is really valuable. We are accustomed to thinking that of course Jesus is God. We, in our simplicity, don't really get what Trinity is, but we somehow think of their appearing to be three Gods, but not really. That is about the best we can do. This of course is precisely why Judaism and Islam both charge that Christianity is not a monotheistic faith.
Dunn helps us to see that we miss the incredible awe-inspiring reality of Jesus when we simply answer yes or no with no further attention. For Jesus embodied the most complete humanity that was envisioned in the concept of being made in God's image. He was the Adam who did not fail. He was the completion, the perfection of that which was first created.
Moreover, God so exalted Jesus, that he comes to be God for us. He shows us by his life and death, resurrection and teachings, who and what God is, in the fullest sense that we humans can comprehend. As Paul suggests, it is as if seeing through a glass darkly, but at least it is not opaque.
For all practical purposes, Jesus shows us God, yet is the prism through which we view God, rather than being God himself. As such he mediates God to us, and us to God. We pray in and through him and by him to the One God.
If I have understood Dr. Dunn at all, this is what I take from his book. This to me is deeply moving and satisfying. This is a book well worth your time. It is eminently readable and while you are free to get into the "nuances" all you wish, you can feel just as satisfied with a more general reading as well. Scholars will find much here to continue the ongoing study, but the average reader will gain much spiritually from the reading.
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By S. Landers
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
James D. G. Dunn examines and exegetes the New Testament evidence which points to a satisfying answer to this question of early Christian Christological belief and practice.
It is an honest and thorough investigation, and the conclusions that Dunn reaches are well-thought-out and resourceful. He does not just hold to traditional views, but considers the question from a variety of aspects, and gives ample space to differing viewpoints.
In this book, the theologian also is a true scholar, objective and erudite. He respects his New Testament sources, and treats them carefully.
This is a wonderful book, a book that anyone can learn from and benefit from, regardless of personal theology.
It is an honest and thorough investigation, and the conclusions that Dunn reaches are well-thought-out and resourceful. He does not just hold to traditional views, but considers the question from a variety of aspects, and gives ample space to differing viewpoints.
In this book, the theologian also is a true scholar, objective and erudite. He respects his New Testament sources, and treats them carefully.
This is a wonderful book, a book that anyone can learn from and benefit from, regardless of personal theology.
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I love Jesus
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