Coming Soon in Paperback

At long last, the wait is almost over for those of you who've been awaiting a paperback edition of my book The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context. University of Illinois Press will be releasing the book in paperback in a few months' time, and it is already available for pre-order on Amazon.com. As is to be expected, it is significantly cheaper than the hardcover edition.

Review at Grasping Mashi'ach

The blog Grasping Mashi'ach has posted a review of my book The Only True God. Take a look!

Halfway to Paperback

If my calculations are correct, The Only True God has already sold about half the number of copies in the first print run. If the first print run sells out within the first three years, the book will be re-released as a more affordable paperback. And so I thought I'd update readers, since I know that some of you are eagerly awaiting a paperback edition. We're making good progress!

Thank you to everyone who has bought the book, reviewed it on their blog and/or Amazon.com, or recommended it for purchase to their local library.

Here are some areas where it could be doing better: On WorldCat it shows that there is only one library that has it in Australia, only three in the UK, two in the Netherlands, and none elsewhere in Europe. Where are the Germans, French, Belgians and Scandinavians who are working on the subjects of monotheism and Christology? (For some reason, the book is approximately half a Euro cheaper on Amazon.fr than Amazon.de).

I particularly expect readers from New Zealand (I know you're out there!) to be indignant that there are apparently no copies in libraries in their country, and make a concerted effort to excel Australia in this regard! I know you've been busy trying to change your national anthem, but this is important too! :-)

Book Excerpt: Chapter Five

The Digital Commons at Butler University obtained permission to share an excerpt from my recent book The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context. It is chapter 5, which is on worship, Christology and monotheism in the Book of Revelation.

Review of Bauckham's Jesus and the God of Israel

I've posted a review of Richard Bauckham's book Jesus and the God of Israel on my main blog, Exploring Our Matrix. In it, a number of the differences between my own viewpoint and that of Bauckham are highlighted and discussed.

The Only True God at Antiquitopia

Jared Calaway has finished reading The Only True God and has posted his initial impressions - in particular highlighting the contrasts with Richard Bauckham's treatment of Christology and Jewish monotheism - on his blog Antiquitopia.

Monotheism and Me

University of Illinois Press has posted a short entry on their blog by me, on the subject of monotheism.

Pre-Order Discount - Time Is Running Out

While the estimate that The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context will be available in July has vanished from the publisher's catalogue, Amazon.com now lists the date as May 26th! There may only be a few more days to benefit from the pre-order discount Amazon is offering of 33% off.

It has been good to see interest in the book's subject matter staying alive in the blogosphere. April DeConick recently turned her blog's attention to the angel of the divine name. Jared Calaway blogged about God as the God of the Gods (and who the gods are of whom god is the god). Nick Norelli has reviewed books by Richard Bauckham and Larry Hurtado on monotheism and Christology. Christology and the Gospels came in as number 6 on Michael Bird's list of the next big things in New Testament studies, although I will be honest, I find Simon Gathercole's arguments for a "high" Christology in the Synoptics underwhelming. Mike Koke discussed monotheism and Christology in the context of the "parting of the ways". Bryan Bibb blogged about teaching the Shema in Hebrew.

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.

In the Top 100: Already a Bestseller!

Many thanks to those who decided to pre-order The Only True God. I just looked and it was ranked as a bestseller, coming in at #53 on amazon.com in the category

Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > History of Religion

Of course, I initially suspected that perhaps there were only 53 books in this category, but not so! :-)

Pre-Order Discount

You can pre-order The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context at a significant discount on amazon.com. It is hard to beat 34% off the list price!

The Only True God: Available for Pre-Order on Amazon.com

My book The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context, forthcoming from University of Illinois Press in March of 2009, is now available for pre-order on amazon.com.

This blog has been created for the purpose of discussing the topic of the book, and since it will still be some time before it is released, those interested in monotheism in ancient Judaism and Christianity may want to follow Ken Schenck's blogging on the subject over at Quadrilateral Thoughts.