Jesus was considered many things in his day: healer, teacher, friend, and miracle worker. But how did this figure from backwater Palestine come to be proclaimed by some of his followers as God Himself? Where does he fit into the pantheon of other ancient dieties?

Meet our guest

Links

Special thanks to our season sponsor Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Thanks also to Morling College, for their support of the Undeceptions conference. Morling currently has a special free booklet available online, perfect for anyone weighing up theological study. Head to info.morling.edu.au/whytheology for more info.

A transcript of this episode is available here. Please note, that due to software not not all exchanges between guests will be completely accurate.

Check out these helpful links below for more info on what was discussed in this episode.

To Read

• Here’s part of Homer’s famed Iliad, which we featured in the episode
• Don’t forget to get a copy of Mike’s new book Jesus Among the Gods: Early Christology in the Greco-Roman World.  Find it here
• Here’s a nice, concise overview courtesy of National Geographic of the polytheistic society in which the church first flourished
• The deification of Julius Caesar is one example of how humans became divine in antiquity. Here’s a breakdown of how it all worked
• Here’s a great article from Matt Perman, posted on Desiring God, on how Jesus was considered both God and man

To Watch

• As per usual, the Bible Project has some great videos on today’s topic. Here’s one on Jesus’ language around being a “Son of man”
• TrueTube have also made this fun video that looks at how Christianity went from a small belief to the global church of today
• So much of Jesus’ divinity hangs on the claim he resurrected. The Infographics Show looks at whether this could be real – and if not – what actually happened.
• Here’s a great video that provides more detail on all the Roman Gods of the ancient world

To Listen

• Mike has some great insights on how the Bible as a whole came together. Here he is on his previous episode ‘Canon Fodder’
• He also makes a brief appearance on our episode ‘Just War’
• Here’s a great discussion with Mike where he further elaborates on the deity of Jesus
• Not everyone believed Jesus claimed to be God. Here’s scholar Bart Ehrman debating theologian Peter J. Williams on this very topic, on Justin Brierly’s Unbelievable podcast
• And here he is discussing it with NPR
• The Resty is History have a great two-part episode going through a world cup of ancient Gods. Jesus doesn’t feauture, but its great fun – check it out here

… and finally

• Here’s the hilarious video featuring different gods sampling some Aussie lamb