Is Jesus Christ the "One True God" - part 2

[MikeH]

Excellent. Thanks.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
Yes, I can.

That will be very enlightening, considering people such as St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas failed to do so.

[Gary]

IMO we are all the sons an daughters of God. Not sure where this "one true" stuff comes in to it.

I'm not a bible student, but I was of the opinion that Jesus made no such claim, and that this special lineage claim was added by those spreading the word later. Or is that not the case ?

[Robert]

Read part 1 of the thread to find argumenations for Jesus being God Himself.

[monkspider]

Is Jesus the "one true god"? A tricky question, one that can't be completely answered in just one or two short sentences. Was he God? He was God in that we are all part of God. He was the God in that he lived a perfect life, and therefore became one with God, and spoke with the authority of God. He was God in that he established a paradigm of perfection that we must strive for.
So is he the "one true God"? I suppose he was insofar as he was literally one with the "one true God". But usually this question has religious conotations of Christianity being the only true path, and God dooms any who don't follow it to eternal punishment. So, Christianity isn't the one true path to God, but Jesus was the "one true god." The best religion for an individual is always whatever one brings him closest to God. Whether it's Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity, etc. I like Christianity since I think Jesus' recorded teachings are great but whichever one is for you is the best one.

[Ben Kenobi]

Cybershy:

Seeing the general ignorance of the posters here.
I'm sorry to detract from the earlier thread, but I might as well rebut in this thread.

Could any Christian prove that Jesus WAS the one true god if they weren't allowed to use the bible?

MikeH:

Why can't we use the bible? The bible is the most reliable historical source we have for this time period.

As per JCP's request, I will confine myself to the Synoptic gospels, starting with Matthew.

Note, I am not trying to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, but only that he believed himself to be the Son of God, and that he told others that he was the Son of God.

Two biblical quotations that verify Jesus of Nazareth believed he was the Son of God.

Matt. 16:13-17

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[2] the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

Matt 26:57-68

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward and declared, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.' "

Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ,[5] the Son of God."

"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"

"He is worthy of death," they answered.


There are only two responses to the claim of Jesus of Nazareth.

You cannot say he is a good teacher, because Jesus does not claim to be only a good teacher, but to be God himself.

You either follow him, or stone him as the Jews did for blasphemy.

[Sava]

Jesus was Jewish... it's so sad that his fanatical followers formed a cult and didn't bother listening to anything the man said. He was a wise man... not a god.

[Arrian]

Let them have their thread, guys, it does no harm.

We can make fun of bible thumpers some other time.

-Arrian

[Ben Kenobi]

Jesus was Jewish... it's so sad that his fanatical followers formed a cult and didn't bother listening to anything the man said. He was a wise man... not a god.

Is this what Jesus said, Sava?

[PeteH]

You may want to check out a book "From Jesus to Christ" by Paula Frederickson. May need ot get it from a college library or academic bookstore (or attend Boston University and take her "Origins of Christianity and the new testament" class) which tracks not only the historical Jesus but the different pictures of him from the gospels and Paul.

As for the topic, I dont agree with the premise so discussion seems pointless

[Ben Kenobi]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300084579/qid%3D982496381/sr%3D1-3/ref%3Dsc%5Fb%5F3/103-2382155-9097412

A link to the book and some reviews. Haven't read this myself, so beware.

[Sava]

Jesus never said he was a god...