How Jesus Became God

The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee

By: Bart D. Ehrman

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

In an audiobook that took eight years to research and write, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman explores how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty Creator of all things.

Ehrman sketches Jesus's transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus's followers had visions of him after his death - alive again - did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today.

As a historian - not a believer - Ehrman answers the questions: How did this transformation of Jesus occur? How did he move from being a Jewish prophet to being God? The dramatic shifts throughout history reveal not only why Jesus's followers began to claim he was God, but also how they came to understand this claim in so many different ways.

Written for secular historians of religion and believers alike, How Jesus Became God will engage anyone interested in the historical developments that led to the affirmation at the heart of Christianity: Jesus was, and is, God.

©2014 Bart D. Ehrman (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

For those w/ firm Christian faith as well as doubt

An efficient discussion of how Jesus transitioned via various forces from being considered an apocalyptic preacher from a small village to become the God of all mankind. I found the areas devoted to the burial and resurrection of Jesus as well as the deep dive (albeit comparatively brief considering the many books devoted to this single subject) into the origin of the Nicene Creed and trinity to be essential for my thirst to better understand Christianity in the context of when it began and thus grew into today's "winner" amongst major Western religions.

Excellent content but a couple of shortcomings

I enjoyed this book, and found a lot of insights. To me it has two major shortcomings.
First, Dr. Ehrman is a bit too loose with declaring what "most people" believed at any given time, which is beyond the historic record. We can't know what people generally believed from the letters, gospels, and other writings of religious leaders. At times he seems to acknowledge this. The best contrast is his talk about liberal Christians today reciting creeds that they don't consider very deeply. Throughout, though, he asserts widespread belief based on a thin historic record. In short, he makes sociological claims that don't seem well-supported.
Second, he glosses over how the orthodox view came to dominance. He gives some detail here, but generally presents this is a triumph in the "marketplace of ideas," which, to me, fell flat.
I'm a sociologist and not a historian, so some of my contention might be disciplinary differences.
Overall, this book is worth a listen, and I'm sure I'll return to it.
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Dr. Michael C. Ide

Personal preference on voice

Very clear voice, just not my preference. A bit ‘robotic’ sounding. But again, easy to understand. Sounded better when I clicked .09 speed.

Very interesting and will make you think.

Great, I think I'll read the book again and again. Then read the Bible again.

Jesus wasn't the only man to become a god.

I thought my playback speed was set at 1.5x because the narration is so fast. Too fast.
For fans of Ehrman, "Ehrheads", this book covers themes from his lectures and earlier books: contextual criticism, versions the bible etc. with emphasis on the myth and culture at the time Jesus changed from man to a god. 'Compares Roman gods and the continuum from human to divinity and how this process compares to Jesus' ascension.
It can be tedious at times because of its academic nature and detail but if you want to get down to it, this is the real thing explained in his unbiased manner. Stunning thing: Jesus probably wasn't buried.

Very Insightful

What made the experience of listening to How Jesus Became God the most enjoyable?

The narrator was very exact about his opinions, very insightful about his research and his findings. He reserved his feelings, and presented his information with clarity.

What did you like best about this story?

He told the story as if witnessing the event, and painted a graphic picture of each scene. He presented each chapter with great detail.

What does Walter Dixon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

You could feel the passion in every detail he presented. He presented facts he gleamed from his research, and not hearsay.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, because I wanted to listen and digest each chapter.

Required reading for secular college classes?

Absolutely fascinating. Well researched. I've listened to and read many of his works and I am in agreement with his scholarly methodology and conclusions.

Great on Early Christianity and it's Surroundings

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Most Christians I talk to get their ideas about early Christianity through Paul. It's a much more interesting to see what can be learned from other sources and what the Historicity of those events are. The book gives a much better view of the setting these events were happening in. It also gives an interesting take on how the philosophical debate about, including the confirmation of, the trinity played out historically.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It takes time to chew.

I got used to the reader’s tempo

I like Walter Dixon but, like others have written, I initially felt this performance had a peculiar “sped up” feeling. It was almost like an overzealous editor put the vocal track through a “cash box” filter. For awhile I avoided listening to it. But I’ve come back to the book and surprisingly it doesn’t bother me at all anymore. I did delete my local copy and re-download from the cloud, so for all I know maybe they uploaded a new version. Finally I can relax and enjoy the book.

lots of citations of early church fathers

overall, an excellent discussion of historical developments, the author's evident biases and hyper skepticism aside