James Dunn has a new book out, Did the First Christians Worship Jesus? I have been excited about this book since it popped up on my radar a few months ago, because it really gets into many of the themes I have been leisurely pursuing in my scholarly life (such as it is). So, taking a page from my pal Dustin, I am going to blog each chapter with synopsis and commentary.
Introduction:
Dunn starts off his book with an introduction to the topic. Why bother asking this question when it seems so settled in our churches already? Because it is settled. In spite of new evidence and new understanding and some really good scholarly work being done, there are some topics that people want to not talk about. That’s one of the things I respect about Dunn. This quote sums up for me why I pursue this, “The confession of the Trinity in terms of ‘essence’ (or ‘substance’) makes too little sense, apart from the Greek philosophical categories that the language presupposes, for it to be meaningful…” Right there. I have long seen our understandings of Trinity (amongst other things) to have gone underdeveloped and archaic because they simply have not been treated seriously since the Nicene-Caledonian councils. Greek categories (like the ones that formed our Ideas about Trinity) are not perfect, nor desirable at all in some cases. I respect that the Latin and Greek thinkers wrestled with these things in their time, but today is not their time, and this is important enough to continue to study.
Dunn frames his question in terms of 5 examinations.
1) Defining “worship” and looking at the scriptures to see if anyone but God received it
2) what did it mean to worship God (the Israelite one)
3) How was self-revelation seen in Early Christianity (as the basis for worship)?
4) Was Jesus even a monotheist? Did he affirm the oneness of God?
5) the conviction that God exalted Jesus to his “right hand”. What did this mean for early Christians and how did they understand this?
I haven’t finished the book yet, but so far, I really dig Dunn’s style and how much he sticks to the scripture. And so far, my assumptions have both been bolstered and challenged. Stay tuned for chapter 1. And visit Dustin’s blog for a smarter take than mine!
