One God, One Lord: Early Christian Devotion and Ancient Jewish Monotheism

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Summary: THE CHRISTIAN MUTATION: WORSHIP OF JESUS
Review: In this book, Hurtado explores various "divine agency" concepts in the 2nd temple Jewish period, particularly those of: 1) personified divine attributes (e.g., Word, Wisdom), 2) exalted patriarchs, and 3) primary angels. He shows that when such figures assume a singularly unique role next to God; they are characterized by the ascription of divine qualities.

His main argument, in this context, is that in none of the extant writings do we find worship directed to a divine agent--worship is reserved for and solely directed toward God. For this reason, he claims the distinctive mutation in Christian faith is that worship is offered both to God and Christ. He makes it clear that the Jewish divine agency category does not, itself, explain why this occurred, but only that it provides a conceptual context or framework for expressing such a mutation.

In a final chapter, Hurtado offers an explanation for what caused this mutation. Basically, he discusses two key factors: 1) the historical ministry of Jesus gave rise to Jesus' distinctive role; and 2) the experiences of the early disciples were such that they were compelled to express worship toward Jesus alongside of God.

Some key issues in response to his book. 1) He does not fully delineate what he means by "worship." Without a clear definite idea of what constitutes worship, it is difficult to justify claiming Jesus as a singular exception in extant Jewish writings in the 1st century. We do, in fact, have "praise" directed to angels and exalted patriarchs in writings in this period. 2) He does not "spell out" exactly what in the experience of the disciples led them to worship Jesus, and what it means to say they "directed" worship toward Jesus. If other figures were fully accorded divine qualities, as Jesus, except for worship, then why not direct worship to these other figures as well? Hurtado and others are continuing to research this subject area. Papers from the St. Andrews Conference on the historical origins of worship of Jesus were just released for publication, in a book entitled THE JEWISH ROOTS OF CHRISTOLOGICAL MONOTHEISM.