Richard Bauckham, Monotheism and UPGs

I want to get your thoughts on monotheism. How does this topic influence your ministry?

If you read much theology, you will come across Richard Bauckham, one of the world’s leading biblical scholars. I want to get you thoughts on one of his books, which may have application for missions. It’s called Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity.

I have two polar different contexts in mind. One is an extreme monotheistic culture, i.e. Muslim cultures. Second, his book may have application for polytheistic or animistic contexts.

I’ve linked a brief video where Ben Witherington interviews Richard Bauckham on the subject.

For now, here is my question––

How might this understanding of monotheism help us talk about things like Christ’s deity, the Trinity, and related topics?

I’d like to get people’s thoughts on the subject and hear what others are seeing in their own ministries. I’ve thought about writing on the subject for a while.

If you’d like to hear a longer (and more technical) lecture from Bauckham, you can also check out his talk titled “Divine and Human Community in the Gospel of John”