How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee is a book by American New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman.

Published on March 25, 2014, by HarperOne, the book contends that the historical Jesus did not claim to be divine, nor was he worshipped as such during his life; rather, his status as God the Son in the Trinity in Christian doctrine developed in the years following his crucifixion.

[1][2][3] Speaking to Terry Gross on the NPR radio talk show Fresh Air, Ehrman stated that, "In this book I actually do not take a stand on either the question of whether Jesus was God, or whether he was actually raised from the dead.

"[2] John Murawski of The Charlotte Observer wrote that the questions raised by the book may appear new and unorthodox to "the casual churchgoer, [...] but [such] disagreements were raging back in the fourth century.

[5] He stated: "their own view – that Jesus actually was God in the flesh – is not based on historical evidence but on religious beliefs and theological assumptions.