In his recent book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher From Galilee historian Bart Ehrman explores a claim that resides at the heart of the Christian faith--- that Jesus of Nazareth was, and is, God. According to Ehrman, though, this is not what the earliest disciples believed, nor what Jesus claimed about himself. The first response book to this latest challenge to Christianity from Ehrman, How God Became Jesus features the work of five internationally recognized biblical scholars. While subjecting his claims to critical scrutiny, they offer a better, historically informed account of why the Galilean preacher from Nazareth came to be hailed as the Lord Jesus Christ. Namely, they contend, the exalted place of Jesus in belief and worship is clearly evident in the earliest Christian sources, shortly following his death, and was not simply the invention of the church centuries later."

New Testament studies are witnessing many exciting developments, and Douglas Campbell's groundbreaking publications offer an important contribution to future discussions about Paul. Campbell tackles familiar problems relating to justification, 'old' and 'new' perspectives, and much more besides, in fresh and exciting ways. In doing so he sets down one profound challenge after another to all those involved in Pauline studies. As a consequence, his work demands extended and serious deliberation. This book seeks to facilitate academic engagement with Campbell's work in a unique way. It contains chapters summarizing key themes in his thinking, reflections from friendly critics that aim to challenge or extend his ideas, and his own response to these interlocutors. In this way, the book allows readers to be drawn into a vitally important conversation. It is academic theology in the making and constitutes a cutting edge in Pauline studies.

A ground-breaking volume that gathers together both biblical scholars and systematic theologians to engage contemporary debates concerning the person of Christ, the structure of this book is unique: rather than divide the topics between the disciplines, each topic is addressed by a theologian and a biblical scholar to provide an explicit and overt dialogue. The topics discussed cover a number of contemporary and perennial debates such as: Christ’s divinity and humanity, the place of the divine Son of God in the Trinity, the diversity of Christologies in the New Testament, kenosis, the sinlessness of Jesus, the two states of Christ, divine impassibility and the cross, and many more. The handbook concludes with a pair of appendices meant to improve its hands-on usefulness. The first collects key creeds and confessional documents pertinent to Christology: the Apostle’s Creed, Old Roman Creed, Nicene Creed, Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, Definition of Chalcedon, Athanasian Creed, etc.; including some brief commentary on the key issues that were in dispute. The second appendix presents a concise dictionary of major concepts, figures, heresies, etc. from the history of Christology.

Chris Tilling makes a fresh contribution to the debate about whether or not Paul's Christology is divine. To this end he analyses the Pauline data that details the relation between the risen Lord and Christians. With reference to contemporary debates regarding 'Jewish monotheism', he argues that the Pauline Christ-relation corresponds - as a pattern - solely to language concerning YHWH's relation to Israel in Second Temple Judaism. This is the case, Tilling maintains, even in texts such as Sirach 44-50, the Life of Adam and Eve and the Similitudes of Enoch. In dialogue both with concerns that one cannot properly speak of a Pauline Christology, and recent studies in Paul's epistemology, Chris Tilling presents Paul's Christology as fully divine, but in a particular way: the Christ-relation is Paul's divine-Christology expressed as relationship. In light of this, he not only reengages arguments deployed by those disputing a Pauline divine-Christology, but also draws additional conclusions relating to the interface between biblical and systematic theological concerns.It is a remarkable fact that divine Christology is not an end product of a development lasting some decades but that high Christology is present and fully developed already in the earliest testimonies of Christianity, in the (undisputed) letters of Paul. Dr. Tilling has presented an investigation on divine Christology of the highest standard both concerning the exegesis of Paul (esp. 1 Cor 8-10) and the awareness of the theological implications. The thesis that Paul's Christ-relation is a divine-Christology expressed as a relationship is well founded and marks a progress in our understanding of Paul's Christology and theology. It leads out from a dead end in discussions whether Paul's Christology is divine or not. This book is an outstanding testimony of critical scholarship by a mature exegete and theologian.Prof. Dr. Hermann Lichtenberger (Professor for New Testament and Antique Judaism at the University of Tubingen and Head of the Institute for Antique Judaism and Hellenistic History of Religions)

Did Paul teach that Jesus was divine and should be worshiped as such? How should this be viewed in relation to Jewish and Jewish-Christian monotheism? The debate over these and related questions has been raging in academic circles -- but it also has profound implications for church practice. In this book Chris Tilling offers a fresh contribution to the long-running debate on whether or not Paul's Christology is divine. Refocusing the debate on the exegetical data and reengaging more broadly with the sweep of themes in Paul's letters, Tilling's innovative contribution is one that cannot be ignored.

New Testament studies are witnessing many exciting developments. And Douglas Campbell's groundbreaking publications are an important contribution to future discussions relating to Paul. Familiar problems relating to justification, "old" and "new" perspectives, and much more besides, have been tackled in fresh and exciting ways, setting down challenge after challenge to all those involved in Pauline studies. Campbell's publications therefore demand serious engagement. This book seeks to facilitate academic engagement with Campbell's work in a unique way. It contains numerous chapters critiquing his proposals, while others summarize the key themes succinctly. But it also contains Campbell's own response to the reception of his work, allowing him space to outline how his thinking has developed. In so doing, this work allows readers to be drawn into a vitally important conversation. It is academic theology in the making and constitutes the cutting edge of Pauline studies. "Campbell's work is undoubtedly one of the most important 'game-changing' contributions to New Testament scholarship in recent times. But as these excellent essays show clearly, its significance extends far beyond the biblical guild, for Campbell is provoking us to rethink some of the most profound and far-reaching issues facing the church today. He deserves to be far more widely known, and this collection will doubtless further that end." --Jeremy Begbie, Duke University, North Carolina "Douglas Campbell . . . has generated a conversation that crosses all theological disciplines--exegetical, historical, systematic, ethical/political. That conversation, on full and brilliant display here, is contending for nothing less than the gospel of Jesus Christ. The issues matter profoundly. These essays, by Campbell and by those who would support, correct, and criticize his work, also matter. No arcane Paul scholarship here . . . essential reading for every theologian." --Douglas Harink, The King's University College, Canada "Douglas Campbell is a force to be reckoned with in Pauline studies. His work can be delightfully illuminating, horribly confusing, and absolutely frustrating--sometimes all in the same paragraph. These insightful essays by some of Campbell's supporters and critics, as well as by Campbell himself, will help readers better engage Campbell and, I think, also Paul." --Michael J. Gorman, St. Mary's Seminary & University, Maryland "Douglas Campbell's groundbreaking interpretation of Paul deserves a wide audience and continuing discussion, and this book is an exemplary model of gracious, critical, and appreciative conversation on matters of crucial importance to all who care about the Apostle Paul's liberating good news." --Susan Eastman, Duke Divinity School, North Carolina Chris Tilling is Lecturer in New Testament Studies at St Mellitus College, London, and visiting Lecturer in Theology at King's College London. He is the author of Paul's Divine Christology (2012).