Bird's new book marks a fascinating new step within the 'New History-of-Religions School.' Using a wide range of sources beyond the New Testament, it combines Jewish and Gentile perspectives on gods and deities. Jesus' divinity is explained not merely from Jewish traditions in the context of Jewish monotheism, but also in consideration of categories from the Greco-Roman world and its various concepts of divinity and deities. Thus, the category of 'ontology' is reinterpreted and used in a nonanachronistic, nonphilosophical, and more strictly source-oriented manner.
~Jörg Frey, Professor of New Testament Studies, University of Zurich
Bird masterfully develops contemporary Jewish monotheism with evidence from Jewish sources such as Philo, Pseudo-Philo, and the Jewish Sibylline Oracles. Arguing that Nicene categories should not be anachronistically placed on Jesus, he looks for ways in which the earliest Christian movements could have sprung from this hotbed of Jewish monotheism. What Bird finds are angelology and messiology. He adeptly traces these shared aspects of ancient Jewish and Christian groups as they appear in diverse permutations in well-known patristic authors such as Irenaeus and more obscure figures such as Elkasai, a baptizer whose followers might have rejected the writings of Paul.
~Janelle Peters, Visiting Assistant Professor, Loyola Marymount University
Michael Bird examines the divine ontology of Jesus in earliest Christianity in this bold and expansive new book. Taking into account both Greco-Roman and Second Temple Jewish understandings of divinity, Bird seeks to dismantle entrenched ideas about the lateness of ontological thinking when it comes to Jesus' divinity and challenges readers to transcend the divide between so-called functional and ontological Christology. As such, this is a thought-provoking and significant contribution to the conversation about Jesus' divinity.
~Robyn Whitaker, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, University of Divinity
A chance encounter with Isis and Osiris in a secondhand bookstore leads the protagonist to embark on an arduous journey through the celestial realms of divine beings (and the terrestrial realms of scholarship) until he arrives at a knowledge of the truth. No, it’s not the latest installment in the Marvel Universe, but rather Michael Bird’s marvelous volume on divine ontologies and intermediaries in the Greco-Roman world. His extensive engagement with the sources and evenhanded analysis make him a sure-footed guide for those seeking to understand early Christology.
~Edwina Murphy, Deputy Dean and Director of Research, Australian College of Theology
Michael Bird’s Jesus among the gods is a wealth of information about early Christologies in early Jewish and Greco-Roman settings. In this well-written and well-organized volume, Bird examines primary sources and current research with encyclopedic thoroughness, offering a fresh, nuanced view of Christ’s uniqueness in light of correspondences with ancient intermediary figures. A must-read for students of early Christianity.
~Lynn H. Cohick, Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs, Northern Seminary
With his characteristic good humor and judicious attention to detail, Michael Bird pushes the conversation regarding early Christologies in new and constructive directions. Having an ear attuned to both Jewish and Greco-Roman voices, Bird offers a straightforward taxonomy of what constituted 'divinity' in the ancient world and makes a serious case that elements of early Christologies are inherently ontological.
~David Capes, Director, Lanier Theological Library
A masterwork of historically informed theology, Bird’s Jesus Among the Gods will compel scholars to revise the standard narrative of how Christology developed.
~Matthew W. Bates, author of The Birth of the Trinity; Professor of Theology, Quincy University, OnScript
All in all this work has been written both with great erudition and with a clear passion. It is a fundamental study in the continuing search for the origins and developments of christology.
~Riemer Roukema, Protestant Theological University, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"Bird’s scholarship is a monumental contribution to the field of early Christology. His mastery of both primary and secondary sources is profound. Bird’s engagement with patristic writings, New Testament Apocrypha, Rabbinic literature, early Christian writings, Greco-Roman authors, and multiple other relevant texts highlights the copious amount of literature needed to properly grasp early Christology in the Greco-Roman world. This is a valuable book for those not only seeking to gain a broader and deeper comprehension of early Christologybut also wishing to engage with the Greco-Roman world."
~Zachary R. Kime, Calvin Theological Journal
"… readers interested in an overview of the relevant material and current debates in this area of scholarship would do well to read Bird’s contribution."
~Kendall A. Davis, Concordia Journal
