Book Flyer

I received a copy of the flyer for The Only True God in Adobe Acrobat format today.

Back Cover Blurbs

The online University of Illinois Press catalog provides the two blurbs from scholars that will appear on the back of the book. Here they are:

"This work puts forward a compelling thesis, questioning the default assumption that what separated first-century Jews and Christians was the Christian elevation of Jesus of Nazareth to divine status as equal with YHWH. McGrath shows decisively that this was not so, arguing with clarity and force and engaging the relevant bodies of primary and secondary literature with precision. A significant and useful book."

--Paul J. Griffiths, author of Lying: An Augustinian Theology of Duplicity

"If anyone thinks that the concept and definition of 'monotheism' are clear-cut, they need to read this book. Similarly, if you think that the issue of 'early Christian monotheism' or the question of Jesus's status within or in relation to 'early Christian monotheism' (as maintained by the writers of the New Testament) can be neatly resolved in straightforward terms, then McGrath will enable you to make a more informed judgment, and hopefully to reach a more mature view."

--James D. G. Dunn, author of Christology in the Making: A New Testament Inquiry Into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation

Book Cover

Here's what the cover of The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context is going to look like:

The fireworks on the cover are not, to my knowledge, intended to represent the "fireworks" that often fly when people discuss God in general or monotheism in particular. The cover is a bit surprising for a book about ancient religion. I think, however, I can offer some explanation as to why a cover like this fits the book better than something more antiquarian. Whether this reflects anything that the cover designers had in mind, we'll probably never know.

First, any attempt to provide an image connected with ancient monotheism and Christology may be off-putting to some potential readers. If the book featured an image of Jesus, or of the Trinity, such a depiction would, when placed together with the title, seem to end dialogue. It would suggest that the one(s) depicted on the cover are "the only true God", end of conversation, and that is not the sort of approach taken in the book.

Second, most monotheistic traditions agree that the one God ultimately transcends the ability of any image or even any language to describe or do justice to. And so those mysterious lights symbolize that aspect nicely.