son of god Flashcards
1
Q
bible evidence
A
- john 1:18- refers to jesus as son of god
- 1 time 2:5- refers to god as a man
- john 1:1- refers to god as god- ‘jesus is the word’
- immanuel=god w/in us
- paul speaks of jesus as gods own son in his letter to the romans
2
Q
the humanity of jesus
A
- said to be thirsty, envy n angry etc
- presents a problem for understadning of jesus’ nature n divinity
- in order to save from sin jesus had to be divine as only god has the power to do that
- if jesus was god, did he really suffer?did he die?
- he said ‘i thirst’ when crucuified (john 19:28)
- he ‘wept’ in garden of gethseminmy (luke 19:36)
- he showed ‘anger’ in the temple (matthew 21:12)
- ‘what he has not assumed he has not healed’
3
Q
jesus’ knowledge of god n of his own nature
A
- jesus was SOG in sense he had unique knowledge of god
- writers speak of him as ‘the word’ of god=words spoken by jesus=words of god=gives his teaching divine authrotiy
- also shown in creation- ‘let there be…‘(genesis 1)- jesus as gods word = he was present at creation
4
Q
issue of jesus having special/full knowledge of god
A
- implies jesus n god=seperate beings who know each other
- early church developed doctorine of ‘hypostatic union’ between jesus n god=2 natures united in 1 person=doesnt clarify the issue
- did jesus have freedom to act in any way other than way he acted?
- was he omniscient?
- was his emotion genuine or did he know what was coming?
- rahner suggest jesus had layers of consciousness w/human self consciousness nearer surface than god consciousness deeper
5
Q
the trinity
A
- the father, son n holy spirit=3 distinct persons (hypostases)
- Each Person is fully God; the three are coexistent, coeternal and coequal
- There is 1 God; the doctrine does not split God into 3 parts
- nicine creed proclaimed the trinity view correct key points:
- belief in 1 god
- christ is son of god, ‘eternally begotten’ of the father
- ‘begotten not made, of one Being with the Father”.
- For our salvation “he came down from heaven”
- “By the power of the Holy spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.”
- “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified”.
-jesus has 2 natures- human n divine
6
Q
against son of god
jesus didnt make this claim
A
- he didnt apply the claim SOG to himself
- theres number of verses where he appears to make clear distinction between him n the father
- ‘but about the day or hour no one knows not even the angels nor the son only the dad’(matthew 24:36)
- ‘why do u call me good, no one is good except god alone’ mark 10:18
7
Q
for him as son of god
the ‘i am’ saying
A
- recite ‘i am’ saying in gospel of john to provide evidence that jesus claimed to be god
- its linked to moses n burning of the bush
- eg ‘i am the resurrection n the life’ john 11-25
- ‘i am the true vine’ john 15.9-5
- ‘i am the gate’ john 10.7
- mark 2:1-12- the healing of the paralysed man. blasphemy to claim to be god, but jesus said ‘the son of man has the authority on earth to forgive sins’
- BUT johns gospel was latest to be written n the other gospels dont mention it, so some doubt jesus ever uttered the ‘i am’ sayings
8
Q
the incoherence of the trinity
A
- teh unitarian liberal theologian Channing said the trinity=’infinite confusion’
- how could 1 be human n divine, weak n almighty, ignorant n omniscient?
- 2 diff incompatible states
- there contradictory qualities which cannot inhere the same being, or that being would have contradictory qualities
- divinity=infinite, humanity=finite
- john hick agrres n says to say jesus=god is like saying a circle=square
- he concludes christ being a mere human solves the paradoxical implications of the trinity
- ‘for to say,w/out expl, that the historical jesus of nazerth was also god is as devoid of meaning as to say this circle drawn w/pencil is also a square’
9
Q
miracles of jesus
A
- jesus miracles suggest gods power is a special way
- johns gospel refers to the miracles as signs, possible bc they point to jesus’ divinity
- his miracles were often displaying powers only god could posses eg over nature n over demons
- as we saw in healing of paralysed man jesus is displaying his power, not j over illness n nature
10
Q
eval
hume on miracles
A
- they dont occur today n cannot be observed
- should be rejected as they cannot be trusted
- if u believe them u have to take it on faith alone
- if u accept them it points to jesus’ power over nature
- this view as god to some reject idea of miracles n therefore argue they cannot provide insight into nature of jesus
11
Q
eval
Edward Schillebeeckx
on jesus miracles
A
- all miracles have deeper meaning in addition to literal interpretation
- jesus calm storm represents his ability to calm ppl in times of crisis
- feed 5,000 was showing ppl to share the food they have to trust in god to provide
- the healing of the blind is jesus reveals god to those previously in dark
- he doesnt see these as diminishing the value of miracles
- they still point to jesus divine nature
12
Q
the resurrection
A
- if jesus death on the cross marked end of his life as a teacher, he may never have been considered the divine son of god
- its vital
- it differed from the teaching that resurrection was a time when righteous would be resurrected at end of time
- differences=his resurrection was witnessed by hundreds of ppl n his followers experienced a decisive difference in their relationship w god
- jesus resurrection marke that start of a new era
- ‘if christ hasnt been raised r preaching is useless n so is ur faith’ -corinthians 15:14
13
Q
eval
st paul on resurrection
that its confirmation of divinty
A
- he described jesus resurrection as the ‘first fruits’ of the harvest
- he expresses metaphorically the possibility of a new reality for all humanity n creation
- even ppl who c jesus as ordinary human in his lifetime, agree resurrection reveals jesus as son of god
14
Q
eval
reimarus (18th cent german philospher) ressurection criticism
A
- he believed jesus was a human deluded about being the messiah
- after crucifixon his disciples hid his body so they could pretend he had been ressurected
- they edited jesus claims of impending apocalypse into claims of a timeless spirtual truths
- jesus only did miracles to those already w/faith
- when sensible ppl requested a miracle for examination jesus refused so non believed in him
- they were only wrote down 30-60yrs after his death n in language palestine jews didnt know
- easy for gospel authors to make up the miracles as it was a time of confusion n also told ppl it was soul saving to j believe
- “and both of these, as is well known, prevailed in the highest degree in the early Christian church.”
15
Q
evaluatipn
ressurection as a hallucination
A
- post mortem appearances to disciples could have been some kind of visionary/religous hallucination
- so not credible as historical evidence
- or he didnt acc die
- or body was never in tomb etc
