Larry Hurtado Clarifies Things about “Early High Christology”

Over at his blog, Larry Hurtado provides some clarification about key positions on how christology developed in the early church. A great read which summarizes some big debates about the origins of christology. He concludes:

To be sure, there was further development across the first several decades, and then across ensuring centuries, particularly as Christians sought to express their theological views in terms of the philosophical categories of the larger Roman environment in the second and third centuries CE.  But the earliest clear indications of believers treating Jesus as sharing in divine honor and as rightful co-recipient of worship are found in our earliest texts, dated ca. 50-60 CE.  And, indeed, in these texts, this treatment of Jesus is taken for granted and as uncontroversial among believers, which suggests that it was by the time of these letters already traditional.  As Martin Hengel once observed, in historical terms, more happened christologically within those first few years than in the ensuing 800 years of theological development.