Should Jesus be worshippped?
I just finished reading James D.G. Dunn's book Did the First Christians Worship Jesus? 
The New Testament Evidence (WJK, 2010). A full review will be forthcoming, but before it get to it and since Dunn opens up the question, I'd like to throw it out there for discussion. The point that Dunn wants to raise concerns whether or not the biblical evidence supports the idea that Jesus should be worshipped directly. That is, does the New Testament provide evidence that Jesus was worshipped as an entity separate from the Father, or is Jesus the locus by whom and through worship of God is maintained. The questions are important ones because they have theological ramifications -- such as, is Christianity a truly monotheist religion? As a teaser I want to provide a quote from Dunn so you can ponder the question more fully.
That Jesus was central to early Christian worship is not to be doubted. He was the reason why their prayers could be offered with confidence and the principle subject of their hymns. It was his name they invoked; they appealed to him in times of personal crisis. And their praise of God naturally included praise of Christ. He was himself the sacred space in whom they met as his bodily presence ('body of Christ') still on earth. It was his day on which they met most regularly. Their sacred meal was his supper, the key elements his body and blood. He alone was the priest through whom they could now come to God. His sacrificial death had dealt with their sins and opened the way to God. Their entry into the divine presence was possible not only because of what he had accomplished (Good Friday and Easter), but through him. (p. 57).
But does that mean that we are to worship Jesus separate from God the Father? As you answer the question, what are the implications of that answer for the way we do worship?
Comments
I recommend a book called "The early Christians in their own words" by Eberhart Arnold. http://www.amazon.com/Early-Christians-Their-Own-Words/dp/0874860954/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285166362&sr=1-1
I'm amazed by how quickly Christology was elevated. I sometimes wonder, when reading the New Testament, how that happened so quickly.
Even if we assumed that the Jesus of the Gospels is an accurate historical portrait (which is a huge stretch), I don't see anything in the Gospels that indicates worshiping Jesus would be what he wanted. Is there any evidence that the disciples worshiped Jesus while he was alive or directly after his death. Is there any evidence Jesus encouraged his own worship or taught them to worship him?
In my opinion, worshiping Jesus is a later Pagan idea that infiltrated Christianity as more and more Pagans became Christians. We start to see traces of the "Pagan deity Jesus" in the Gospel of John (60+ years after his death), which means it took several generations of Christians for these ideas to become popular. Even in that later Gospel, he still wasn't a deity who people worshiped.
Jesus is neither divine nor a sacrifice. The Good News message and the Kingdom of God are what are divine.
God is Singular and Solitary. There are neither multiple nor opposing divine forces.
Doug Sloan
John
Worshiping Jesus is in scripture.. Matthew 28.9. Of course there are other forms, like the woman crying at Jesus feet.
Chuck
In several of Jesus' parables he alludes to his own identity as the son of the master and the one who was heir to the master' authority. To go back before the gospels, Paul often refers to himself as a slave or servant of Christ, which makes Christ the master, and not merely a high priest in the divine hierarchy.
John
Doug Sloan
I guess to me worship is letting myself feel profound thanks for being a part of creation, and for the guidance and moral support my heavenly brother provides.
Yeah, that's it.
I like that.
John
Chris