As many readers will know, my second book, The Only True God, is due to appear in Spring 2009. I’m currently filling in the author’s questionnaire for the publisher, University of Illinois Press. For marketing purposes, I need to answer questions about courses that might adopt the book as a textbook, journals and magazines that might usefully run an ad or draw attention to the book, scholarly list-servs and other such venues where it might usefully be discussed, and so on. The book is about early Christian Christology in the context of the Jewish “monotheism” of that time, and interacts with the work of Dunn, Hurtado, Bauckham, Casey, Segal, Wright and others.
Although I have a lot of ideas already about who might find the book useful, perhaps even use it as a textbook for a course, it seems to me that one advantage of blogging is being able to ask for input from a wider audience that is potentially interested in this topic. So I’m asking for your assistance. If you think you’d like UIP to send you a mailing, or know someone who ought to be alerted when the book comes out, or teaches a course on the subject, or is currently researching the subject, then please let me know in a comment. Mention journals, magazines and other periodicals – who knows, I may have overlooked one! Are there any prizes for religion books that this could be submitted to? Any input is greatly appreciated.
To help with this, I’m posting the table of contents below. Thank you in advance for your input!
The Only True God: A study of early Christian monotheism in its Jewish context
Chapter 1
MONOTHEISM AND METHOD: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF EARLY JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT ABOUT GOD
Typologies of the Relationship Between Early Jewish and Christian Monotheism
– Developmental Theories
– Static Theories
Important scales and distinctions
Types of Monotheism
– Creational monotheism
– Liturgical monolatry/monotheism
– Inclusive or Exclusive Monotheism?
Summary
Chapter 2
Worship and the Question of Jewish Monotheism in the Greco-Roman Era
Chapter 3
Monotheism and the Letters of Paul
Chapter 4
Monotheism and the Gospel of John
The Prologue (1:1-18)
“Making Himself (Equal to) God” (John 5 and 10)
“I AM” (John 8)
Jesus as “God” (20:28)
Conclusion
Chapter 5
Monotheism and Worship in the Book of Revelation
Chapter 6
Two Powers Heresy: Rethinking (and Redating) the Parting of the Ways between Jewish and Christian Monotheism(s)
Introduction
Methodology and Dating
The Start of the Controversy
Mishnah and Tosefta
Babylonian Talmud
Midrashim
The Third Century Context
What Exactly Was Heretical About ‘Two Powers’
Conclusion
Chapter 7
Conclusion
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In