This is a monumental work on earliest Christian devotion to Jesus, sure to replace Wilhelm Bousset's "Kyrios Christos" (1913) as the standard work on the subject. Larry Hurtado, widely respected for his biblical expertise, provides our best view to date of the ways that the first Christians saw and reverenced Jesus as divine. In assembling this compelling picture, Hurtado draws on every available ancient source, from Scripture and the writings of figures like Ignatius of Antioch and Justin to "apocraphyal" texts such as the "Gospel of Thomas" and the "Gospel of Truth."

Hurtado considers such themes as early beliefs about Jesus' divine status and significance, but he also explores telling devotional practices of the time, including prayer and worship, the use of Jesus' name in exorcism, baptism and healing, ritual invocation of Jesus as "Lord, " martyrdom, and lesser known phenomena such as prayer postures and the curious scribal practice known today as the "nomina sacra."

The revealing portrait that emerges of this earliest time in Christian history yields a host of definitive answers to such questions as: How important was this formative period to later Christian tradition? When did the divinization of Jesus first occur? Was early Christianity influenced by neighboring religions? How did the idea of Jesus' divinity change old views of God? and Why did the powerful dynamics of early beliefs and practices encourage people to make the costly move of becoming a Christian.

A major contribution to the study of Christian origins, this book will interest anyone curious about the beginnings of faith in Jesus.