Okay. I have had this question bothereing my conscienc for a few months. I understand that everyone has there own opinion and I truly appreciate any opinion offered on this matter. As a youth forced to go to church I had many questions that went un-answered, this believe it or not being one of them, Was Jesus the son of God or simply another Prophet of his time that claimed to be?

Keep in mind that I am not choosing one view over the other (since I simply don't know) but I would appreciate your thoughts and views on the matter.

I have asked this same question, be prepared for a wide range of responses. Christians are not exactly cohesive in their beliefs, because the bible can be Interpreted however one sees fit.

I don't think anyone can answer that question for you. It's like trying to prove God exists or doesn't - a matter of faith, a "gift' that you have or do not have in whatever measure.

Christians and Catholics point to several places in the Old Testament where prophecies are quoted and then relate them to events and other 'evidence' from the life and death of Jesus. Sceptics have their own views. And I have just read on one website that astonishingly and vehemently claims that the Prophet Mohamad is the true 'Prince of Peace', not Jesus, and supposedly quoting from the same old testament.

If you believe that Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, that is quite a remarkable gift of faith. If all that is true, you are so ahead on the Path. Even if it is not true, Jesus taught only good stuff, and his personal life was exemplary. His death was glorious for its radical forgiveness and radical love.

Indeed I agree that this Jesus lived and led a remarkable life. BUt I also believe that dozens of prohets could just as easily have claimrd the same thing. In fact some did say they were the son of God. I have yet to understand why or how Jesus is the Son of God. In a sense we all our. He "supposedly" created us in his image did he not?

IMO there is NO 'can be' about it...thats how it REALLY goes...people do take from the bible what they see is right..they are the ones that make up their minds to interpret what they want and run with it

How about neither.

Perhaps, he was merely a wise man trying to teach his fellow man something about dignity, love, and respect for other human beings. Sadly, in this world, wise & peaceful men rarely live long, nor are their words often acted upon by the masses. Those that try to teach understanding are often martyred by the mob, driven by the fear of change.
And they are often 'canonized' by their followers to be something more than what they were: Men (and women) trying to make a difference in the world.

Too often, in order to legitimize a teachers words, impressive, majestic lineages are claimed for the teacher. Descended from kings, or high priests; even the sons and daughters of gods. For it seems that we, as a species, cannot readily accept the words & teachings of a mere man, but need a higher seal of authority.



just my opinion, not that it will make a whit of difference to anyone.

I believe he was both God and the Son of God, because that is what the Bible teaches. When Peter is asked by Jesus who he thought he was, Peter replies "You are the Christ (Messiah), the son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Jesus agrees with this assessment of the matter. So Jesus here is noted as the Son of God. There are other passages that back this up. Jesus refers to himself as God's son, speaking of himself and the Father in the one breath.

But Jesus also claims to be God himself. In John 8:58, after revealing to the crowd that he existed before Abraham (who was living thousands of years earlier), he exclaimed to the crowd "I tell you the truth, before Abraham existed - I am". This phrase "I am" is gramatically incorrect in the original Greek, unless it is the special name that was used for God (see Exodus 3:14). Jesus equates himself with God, saying that he is the "I Am" referred to in Exodus and elsewhere. The listeners also realised this, because the very next verse they picked up rocks to stone him.

Other parts of the Bible also seem to equate Jesus as being the same as God - Philippians 2:5-8 being just one of many examples.

So in short, the Bible states quite clearly that Jesus is god and Jesus is the son of God. Whether you believe the Bible account is another matter however. I take the Bible as the word of God and therefore accurate in this matter. Others may not and therefore come to such responses as JMPD gave above - that he was just some wise-man trying to teach humans to be better towards each other. I don't think that would be an accurate reflection, but it is a possibility if you do not accept the Bible as true.

~ Regards, PA

Let me ask this:

If it was found that Jesus was NOT the son of god/god ( assume for the moment that it is a given that he was just a man) , would that invalidate or otherwise demean his message?

Apologies, I could not further shorten my letter.

Is Jesus really the Son of God?


I began with the notion that unless God reveals himself to man, we cannot possibly know him. One can of course argue that that man invented God for any number of reasons – need, power mongering among priests, whatever.

There have been many kind, good and brave men and women who led lives lives of service and self-sacrifice for the sake of other people. Few were acclaimed as divine.

I speak as a cradle Catholic who meandered for many years exploring other paths to God, glad for a long time to be away from the threat of Hell which seemed a stupid notion clashing directly with an All Loving God who supposedly created everything.

Five years ago for many reasons I began a study of Padre Pio the stigmatist and since then have returned to receiving the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist. The reality of Padre Pio’s replication of the crucifixion wounds on his body, painful and bleeding for 50 years, his extraordinary life of service to people and the reams of documented miraculous cures were convincing for me that Jesus did live and was indeed the Son of God. Like doubting Thomas I needed a serious prod.

Still a little confused but glad and grateful to be able, through faith, to participate in, I believe, the mystery of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made. So it is again back to faith.

We MUST question this deepest of questions regarding God and, for Cathloics, Jesus. But you will come up against the most frustrating of answers: It is a Mystery.

Why did God create us in the first place? Surely He would have known that given Free Will some of us would go a little wild and done some naughty things. If so why does a single sin of pride cast His most beautiful angel, Lucifer, into eternal damnation?

What was the Original Sin that made us outcasts from paradise? How was it so bad that we couldn’t make sufficient reparation that He had to send His son to redeem us? And was it really so very bad that He had to die such a horrible death in front of His Mother? Did it require such a horrendous price to pay?

How much kinder and more peaceful to accept the Buddhist way which is that we will all, eventually, after a million re-births repaying karma, we will All go back to Nirvana.

And along comes Padre Pio.

Anyway, here are some notes from a Catholic website – I am sure they will not mind them being replicated here.

Blessings to you.


The Old Testament is to have told us how we somehow screwed it all up, and that never mind, God would send a Messiah to get us out of our impossible situation. The good men and women who were prophets would get little clues as to how to recognise the Messiah when he finally arrived.

From apostolic times the Christian faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God’s Son "come in the flesh" (Cf. 1 Jn 4:2-3; 2 Jn 7).
The title "Son of God" signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father that he is indeed the Son of the Father (cf. Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18); he is God himself (cf. Jn 1:1).

Some Jews recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David," promised by God to Israel (Cf. Mt 2:2; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9, 15). The name Jesus means "God saves.", "for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21)


Jesus showed unalterable peace, a peace which may be ruffled but cannot be destroyed either by His inward feelings or outward encounters. He urges the law of love, but shows that it embraces the whole Law and the Prophets; The law of self-sacrifice inculcates that we shall find life by losing it; but the law of biological organisms, of physiological tissues, of intellectual achivements, and of economic processes shows that self-sacrifice is self-realization in the end. The second paradox is that of service: "Whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister: and he that will be first among you, shall be your servantPlato and Aristotle are utterly unlike Jesus; they may speak of natural virtue, but we never find children in their arms. Jesus treats the publicans as His friends;

The grace of the Master is also evident in the form of His teaching: He meets with the lightest touch, approaching sometimes the play of humour and sometimes the thrust of irony, the simple doubts of His disciples, the selfish questions of His hearers, and the subtlest snares of his enemies.

In the light of faith the life of Jesus is an uninterrupted series of acts of love for man. It was love that impelled the Son of God to take on human nature, though He did so with the full consent of His Father: "For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son" (John 3:16). He shows a boundless compassion for all the infirmities of the body; He uses His miraculous power to heal the sick, to free the possessed, to resuscitate the dead. The moral weaknesses of man move His heart still more effectively; the woman at Jacob's well, Mathew the publican, Mary Magdalen the public sinner, Zacheus the unjust administrator, are only a few instances of sinners who received encouragement from the lips of Jesus.

He is ready with forgiveness for all; the parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates His love for the sinner. "Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you" (Matthew 11:28) is the message of His heart to poor suffering humanity. "Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

Jesus urges on His hearers the true adoration in spirit and in truth (John 4:23) required by His Father. Repeatedly He declares His entire dependence on His Father (John 5:20, 30; etc.); "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me" (John 4:34). Jesus honours His Father (John 2:17), and proclaims at the end of His life, "I have glorified thee on the earth" (John 17:4). He prays almost incessantly to His Father (Mark 1:35; 6:46; etc.), and teaches His Apostles the Our Father (Matthew 6:9). During His Passion one of His most intense sorrows [He was also fully Man] is His feeling of abandonment by His Father (Mark 15:34), and at the point of death He joyfully surrenders His Soul into the hands of His Father (Luke 23:46).

The Divinity of Jesus is proved by some writers by an appeal to prophecy and miracle. But, though Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament to the letter, He Himself appears to appeal to them mainly in proof of His Divine mission; The prophecies uttered by Jesus Himself differ from the predictions of the Old Testament in that Jesus does not speak in the name of the Lord, like the seers of old, but in His own name. If it could be strictly proved that they were made in virtue of His own knowledge of the future, and of His own power to dispose of the current of events, the prophecies would prove His Divinity; as it is they prove at least that Jesus is a messenger of God, a friend of God, inspired by God. Jesus appeals to His works as bearing witness to the general truth of His mission (John 10:25, 33, 38), and also for the verity of some particulr claims (Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:10-11; etc.)

Did Jesus teach that He is God? He certainly claimed to be the Messias (John 4:26), to fulfill the Messianic descriptions of the Old Testament (Matthew 11:3-5; Luke 7:22-23; 4:18-21). If there had been a misunderstanding He would have corrected it, even as Paul and Barnabas corrected those who took them for gods (Acts 14:12-14).

If the Divine Sonship of Christ is a mere intellectual relation, and if Christ is God in a most figurative sense, the Paternity of the Father and the Divinity of the Son will be reduced to a figure of speech.

Yes, it would - at least to an extent. Because contrary to what some would say, "Love others" was not the entirety of Jesus' message. If it were just this, then regardless of who he was the message would be the same. But that is not the whole of Jesus' message. Jesus also claimed that following him was the only way to heaven - "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me" (John 14:6). In order for this message to be true, Jesus had to be the son of God.

Part of Jesus' message is universal, regardless of who he was. But there is a chunk (I believe THE most important chunk) that hinges on Jesus being God, which makes his divinity vital to the message itself.

Once again, I am disappointed. While the others voice various opinions, you simply repeat church teachings. If you really read the n.t. as if you never heard the dogma. Please don't accuse me of "bashing" you. You know ih your heart what Jesus really means: We are all sons of God. We are all divine, wholly human and wholly God. We have to "die", and undergo a spiritual "resurrection" to reach enlightenment. jesus and Buddha taught exactly the same thing. You need to reread that n.t., and disregard the mythology, and all the so-called "letters". Jesus was teaching that the "I am" (hebrew Eheyeh) is the way, the truth and the life, not the mortal incarnate in that particular bodily vessel.

I agree.

Without letting Paul's letters prejudice you, the NT can have a different feel entirely.

Here's a question to answer your question.


You asked:

Is Jesus really the Son of God?


I aks you in return:


According to which religion?


Christians say he's God

Muslims say he's a prophet.

Jews say he's a heretic.



Look for yourself. Study what there is to know about Jesus and then make your own opinion. If you ask people, you'll only get a million answers of nothing, and you'll find yourself right back where you started...not knowing.

"Captain Kirk, Scotty here! We have signs of intelligent life!"

And if you read the title of this thread he/she DID add in - prophet...so without nit picking...anyone can see what the OP is asking...meaning you dont have to belong to a religious group to answer

i just get fed up with those who simply quote CHRISTIAN RHETORIC, WORD FOR WORD, and interpret the n.t. exactly, without admitting that is what they are doing. Gee, p.a.-what happened to the rule about giving sources? now you are a mod. Don't you have to admit that you are quoting standadr christian dogma word for word?Jesus taught and claimed the exact opposite of what the church teaches. Actually read the n.t., yes, in context, and ignore "Paul". Just because the church voted to include writings "by" him, doesn't mean he had the right to rewrite Jesus's teachings.

This thread is pointless. The only thing we can base this discussion off of is holy books. Which are biased sources that shouldn't be considered in a debate like this. Books that cannot be supported by anything other then faith.

Believers will say yes...Skeptics will say no. Those who are neither Skeptic or Believer will not be able to come to a conclusion because there is not enough resources available to come to a conclusion.

Wow, Gid - I didn't think I had struck such a large nerve with that. If Paul had said anything that contradicts Jesus, I would dismiss him. So far in my reading, I have not found it to be the case.

Just because my interpretation agrees with mainstream Christianity does not mean that I am quoting dogma verbatim. Remember that I only became a Christian in my early 20's. I read the Bible and simply came to the conclusion that most of mainstream Christianity has. There are differences in my beliefs, just as there are similarities.. Just because you do not believe that Christianity is correct does not mean that people who agree with Christianity are suddenly simply spouting dogma. Your comments on my plagiarism are just laughable, simply because my beliefs coincide with other Christians.

I really wish you the best of luck with your life journey, Gid

~ Regards, PA

Maybe Paul didn't get the message?

Hi COI,

I don't think these phrases from Paul invalidate Christ's comment in Matthew 5. Paul is not advocating the Law be done away with. If he were, would he not have continued to live by the Law? Paul kept the Law, right to the end. He obviously saw value in following the Law. Romans 10 and Galatians 3 are not advocating we throw the law away. It is advocating that the Law is no longer the means by which we are judged. Before Jesus, we were all judged by the Law of the Old Testament, which was impossible to follow because no one could be perfect enough to follow it. Which is where the New Testament and Jesus came in. Now, instead of being judged by the Law, we are judged by Grace (a slight misnomer, considering those saved in the Old Testament were also saved by Grace, but it's the best phrase to fit the New Covenant).

Jesus being the end of the law does not mean the Law was done away with - if it were, Paul would not have continued to live according to Jewish customs and Old Testament laws. Instead, it was just showing that the criteria by which we are judged has been changed. The criteria of the Law has ended; the criteria of Grace under Jesus has begun. The Law is still alive and well though.

Maybe it was not Paul who missed the message.......

Roy Zimmerman did a nice job of saying what Jesus would not do:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw

Indeed. I wanted this to be as open as possible. Which means that I sked the question so anyone could answer and not just people of one faith. I appreciate all the replies I haveq recieved. And whether Christian, Catholic Judaism, etc. It does not matter what religion as long as they would like to leave an opinion. Leaving the question the way I asked it leaves room for many to participate rather than a few.

THank you to eveyone for your opinions on the matter.

Speak for yourself...God is very well able to prove Himself like Jesus could prove He is the son of God with signs and miracles. Nowhere you can find in the bible that sings and miracles would stop there and then..When I really wanted God to prove Himself to me, for the reason everybody says something different, God did and I received the Holy Spirit with the remarkeble sign of speaking in Tongues( A language unknown to the speaker) Just like the pentecost story in Acts.
I was baptised under water and my life changed. Over the 9 years I have seen a lot of people being healed of cancer, aids, death etc. Over the 2000 years nothing has changed. markt 16: 15- 20 is still working today..people are just looking in the wrong direction.

Challenge for you: Just ask God if He exists..If you are sincere He will show you!

Greetz,

Evert Huisman
Holland.

www.revivalfellowship.com

Challenge for you: Just ask God if He exists..If you are sincere He will show you!
Greetz,
Evert Huisman
Holland

Thank you. Perhaps my faith needed a boost like this!

I do not EXPECT a personal revelation, so now I shall Ask and Expect to Receive



Do you have anything outside of biblical sources, maybe personal expeiences, to add to reply to the queation: Is Jesus the Son of God?

Gid why on earth did you quote ME and aim at PA?? You take my post but talk directly to PA, it don't make sense!!

life survival
but even still remember to survive:
3 days without water
3 WEEKS with out food!
3 hours with out shelter
(the row of three)

hmm maybe this thread attracts senseless posts

I didn't know that Paul lived by the law...


Deuteronomy says otherwise.




So if I am the end of you, are you not done away with something? If a hacker were to be the end of this forum, would the forum not be done away with? I don't see how something can end, and yet still be.

I would think that if someone was cured of aids it would be in all the medical journals, as well as all over the news, regardless of how it happened. Do you have evidence to support this claim?

PROOF???? You expect proof of these miraculus miracles???????

Don't be silly evanci, y'all just need faith.

I agree with you
I dont believe that anyone can be cured of aids either...it has never ever been proved

If there was such a miracle..it would have hit the headlines in no time

Bleach kills aids lol it does..but if you drink the bleach..you will die anyhoo...

any religious person will say we are all gods children...so if we are all gods children then jesus was the son of god just like we are all the sons and daughters of god. would that make us all jesus hhhmmm? the question here is was jesus god on earth or did god put jesus into a virgins womb. with my faith i say yes but if i'm wrong i truely don't think god cares.

especialy since Isaiah used almah instead of betulah.

This question came to me a quite a few years ago. After being forced to go to a church that I shared no views w/ (forced to go by my father). I believe that the Bible was written to maintain order and keep all governed in a time when many were worshipping many gods. DOn't get me wrong I am not trying to debunk anyone involved in writting the Bible there are just too many things I do not understand. For one the Bible says WE ARE MADE IN GODS IMAGE the Bible also says that WE ARE SONS OF ADAM AND DAUGHTERS OF EVE. Then the Bible alos says YE ARE OF YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL AND THE SINS OF YOUR FATHER YOU SHALL COMMIT. There are many cotradicting things that I have questioned but not found. In the old Testament we are supposed to sacrifice animals for the smallest of errors, and kill many animals if your sin was huge. then in the New testament we are to not harm animals. Why would a loving God have someone right this down and have peole act upon such violence? What did the animals do to get killed for human behavior? Not just in the Bible but I have many questions about every religion I studied. I guess I have a hard time having faith in a God that has made no attempt (that I'm aware of) to let me know he/she exhists. I don't mean to discredit God or Jesus. But I believe in myself and not a God I have no idea exhists. People have FAITH in the Bible, but in my opinion Faith is not Fact.

In any event I am always open to admit I am wrong and I have asked God as a child to come into my life many times. I don't think he got my messgaes.

Yes the Bible says this we are Gods Children. But the Bible says we our of our father the Devil. Hmm...What is it then? IS there something I missed? Our we gods children or is Satan our Father?

"Ye are of your father, the devil and the sins of your father ye will do?" -St. John 8:44. Well the Bible says we are sinners so are is our father the Devil or God? SO many questions that haven't been answered. I guess thats where faith comes in. SO at this point in time I will simply admit I am agnostic as to whether God exhists and I guess that means I have little to no faith (depending on ones definition). Until then I'll believe in myself.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%...70340%2C00.html

Cant say its a "healing", but it definitely looks like a miracle...From whence it came ? I have no idea

I have not read the Bible but I came across the sentences which say we are all god's children just like Jesus. Sometimes people just read and interpret A sentence but when you read/intrepret the previous and next sentences, in that CONTEXT, the meaning becomes totally different. I don't remember the exact sentences to give an example.

Are there sentences in the Bible where Jesus says that He's God or son of God, so worship me ?

He lived according to the law, as did all the early Christians. He understood though that observance of the Law did not save people. But he did urge people to live according to God's Laws consistently. That's quite similar to your belief also, isn't it - God doesn't desire sacrifices, it's the matter of the heart in following God that is important. Is that not correct?

But if I come to the end of a football match, it doesn't mean the football match was meaningless and it doesn't mean that the football match won't be played again. If the fulltime whistle signals the end of the match, is the entire concept of football gone forever?

That is correct. In Judaism "salvation" (there's no need to be "saved" from anything in Judaism because there is no "original sin" concept) is gained by loving God and obeying his commands.

i read the verse you put up there. jesus wasn't saying everybody's father was the devil...you have to read what was happening before that. you have to read all the way from the very begening of chapter eight of st. john. basicly the pharisees were saying jesus was breaking all these traditional rules of the jews and they wanted to kill him. they said we are abraham's seed and jesus said if you were abraham's seed you would love me but instead you want to kill me, that's not what abrahams seeds would do that's what the devil would do, and they picked up stones and tried to stone him. basicly he was telling them that they were doing the devils work he was talking to the pharisees trying to kill him not telling everybody they're father is the devil. he was agrueing with pharisees (preachers) i would think atheist would love that at least. you have to read what comes before and after you can't just qoute one line.

the wicked people are serpeants

its the good verse evil everyday

noahs survial

Sorry lost that a long time ago.

Very interesting story, thanks for sharing.

I couldn’t help but notice that this article was written in 2005. Have there been any additional follow ups to this story? I am not familiar with particular publication or its reputation for reporting real news. I still think that if this story was true we would have heard about it from major news agencies like the BBC, or CNN, as well as all the medical and scientific journals.

WTF? Who is this guy?

Yeah you could be right....The only way I found this is because I remember seeing it a long time ago. Im not sure if there is a follow up or not as I havent really looked into it. Could be innaccurate.

found this about the case



http://independentsources.com/2005/11/14/m...ids-not-likely/

I thought this was a bogus story, thanks for finding it.

I dont believe it was true..if it were true the tabloids would have taken it and sold it

You could be right.Nice find fullywired. Thanks for researching itHairston

Jesus said he was the Son of God, and that He is "I Am", the special Name of Yahweh. He NEVER said he was the Creator God who is actually Elohim. This would be a contradiction if we acknowledge Yahweh as God, but this is NOT what the real Bible says. Yahweh is the son of Elohim, the real creator. This is stated in the Old Testament but both modern Jews and Christians pretend this scripture is not there. It is also repeated in the Cannanite theology where Yahweh is called Yaw, but still the Son of El/Elohim. He was not the creator, (Elohim), but it is possible Yahweh could have been reincarnated as Jesus. They are both called Sons of God. This is the ONLY way the words of Jesus are not a contradiction, or a blasphemy. Proof of this is when he calls to El from the cross. He CANNOT call to Yahweh because HE IS Yahweh!

PA, if you can find anything in the Bible that can contradict this, please show us.