The Jesus Confusion by One Reason

7/31/2019 The Jesus Confusion by One Reason

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CON

OMETIMES

EFERRED TO ASORD IN THEIBLE AND ATTHER TIMES ASON OF GOD.

OD IS CALLEDHE FATHER,O PUTTINGHESE NAMESOGETHER

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INTRODUCTION 5

JESUS NEvER CALLS HIMSELF GOD 6

JESUS AS SON AND LORD? 7

THE NATURE OF JESUS 9

THE MESSAGE OF JESUS 11

THE EARLy CHRISTIANS 13

JESUS IN ISLAM 15

CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS


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IGURE WHO

S LOvED ANDEvERED ByILLIONS OFEOPLE THE

ORLD OvER.

ET THERES SO MUCHONFUSIONURROUNDINGHE STATUS OF

HIS COLOSSALERSONALITy.


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Jesus is a gure who is loed and reered

b billions o people the world oer. yetthere is so much conusion surroundingthe status o this colossal personalit.Muslims and Christians both hold Jesusin high regard but iew him in erdierent was.

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION INTRODUTION

Some ambiguous erses o the Bible can beapplied erroneousl to show that Jesus is insome wa diine. Howeer i we loo at theclear, direct erses o the Bible, we see againand again that Jesus is being reerred to asan etraordinar human being and noth-ing more. What emerges, when we consider

the historical and logical acts about Jesuslie, is conclusie proo not onl that Jesuscannot be God, but that he neer claimed tobe either.

What ollows are e lines o reasoningwhich clari this subject or us through theBible itsel and thereb allow us to discoer

the real Jesus.


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JESUS NEvER CALLS HIMSELF GODGOD JESUS N

1The Bible contains man erses in whichJesus speas o God as a separate personto himsel. Here are just a ew o them:

When a man addressed Jesus as Good Teacher, he

replied, Wh do ou call me good? No one is goodecept the one God. [Mar 0:8]

In another instance he sas, I cant do anthing bmsel. Whateer I hear, I judge, and m judgmentis just. I dont see m own will but the will o the onewho sent me. [John :0]

Jesus speas o God as a separate being to himsel: Imgoing up to m Father and our Father, to m God andour God. [John 0:]

In this erse he arms that he was sent b God: This iseternal lie: to now ou, the onl true God, and JesusChrist whom ou sent. [John :]

I Jesus was God he would hae told people to worshiphim, but he did the opposite and disapproed an-one worshipping him: And in ain the worship Me[Matthew :]

I Jesus claimed to be God then there should behundreds o erses in the Bible which would hae

mentioned it. But there is not a single erse in the en-tire Bible in which Jesus sas I am God, worship me.


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JESUS AS SON AND LORD? JESUS AS SON AORD?

2Jesus is sometimes reerred to as Lordin the Bible and at other times as Son oGod. God is called the Father, so puttingthese names together it could be claimed

that Jesus is the son o God. But i we looat each o these titles in contet we willnd that the are smbolic and not to betaen literall.

Son o God is a term used in ancientHebrew or a righteous person. God calls

Israel his son: This is what the LORD sas:Israel is m oldest son.[Eodus :]. Also,Daid is called the Son o God: The LORDhas said to Me, you are M Son, Toda Ihae begotten you [Psalm :]. In act an-one who is righteous is reerred to as Godsson: All who are led b Gods Spirit areGods sons and daughters [Romans 8:].

In the same wa, when the word Fatheris used to reer to God it shouldnt be taenliterall. Instead its a wa o saing God isthe creator, sustainer, cherisher etc. Thereare man erses or us to understand thissmbolic meaning o the word Father,

or eample: one God and Father o all[Ephesians :].

8


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Jesus is sometimes called Lord b thedisciples. Lord is a term used or Godand also or people who are held in highesteem. There are man eamples o theword Lord being used or people in theBible: So the (Josephs brothers) went upto Josephs steward and spoe to him atthe entrance to the house. We beg ourpardon, our lord, the said [Genesis :-0]. Also, in other parts o the Bible, Jesusis een called a serant o God b the dis-

ciples: the God o our athers, has gloriedhis serant Jesus [Acts :]. This clearlshows that when Lord is used to reer toJesus, it is a title o respect not o diinit.

UT NOBODyNOWS WHENHAT DAy OR

OUR WILLOME, NOTHE HEAvENLyNGELS AND


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God is independent and he doesnt needsleep, ood or water. Jesus howeer ate,dran, slept and depended on God: As theliing Father sent me, and I lie because

o the Father [John :]. Another sign oJesus dependence on God is that he praedto God: Going a little arther, he (Jesus)ell with his ace to the ground and praed[Matthew :]. This shows that Jesushimsel sought help rom God. God, beingthe one who answers praers does not needto pra to anone. Also, Jesus said: I am

going to the Father, because the Father isgreater than me [John :8]. The Bible is

THE NATURE OF JESUS THE NATURE OF JESSUS

3The nature o Jesus was totall dierentto that o God. There are man parts othe Bible that highlight this dierence innature:

God is All-knowing but Jesus b his ownadmission was not All-knowing. This canbe seen in the ollowing passage whenJesus sas, But nobod nows when thatda or hour will come, not the heaenl

angels and not the Son. Onl the Fathernows. [Matthew :]

08


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0

clear that God is unseen and is not a man: or no onema see me and lie [Eodus :0], God is not a man[Chapter :]. Jesus on the other hand was a manwho was seen b thousands o people, so he could notbe God. Furthermore, the Bible maes it clear that Godis too great to be inside his creation: But how could Godpossibl lie on earth with people? I heaen, een thehighest heaen, cant contain ou [ Chronicles :8].According to this erse Jesus cannot be God liing onthe earth.

The Bible also calls Jesus a Prophet[Matthew :0-], so how could Jesus beGod and Gods Prophet at the same time?That wouldnt mae sense.

Additionall, the Bible inorms us that Goddoes not change: I the Lord do not change[Malachi ::]. Jesus howeer went through

man changes in his lie such as age,height, weight etc.

These are just some o the proos within theBible, which mae it clear that the natureo Jesus and God is completel dierent.Some people ma claim that Jesus hadboth a human and a diine nature. This is a

claim that Jesus neer made, and is in clearcontradiction to the Bible which maintainsthat God has one nature.


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The truth is that Jesus preached the samemessage that the Prophets in the OldTestament preached. There is a passagein the Bible which reall emphasises hiscore message. A man came to Jesus and

ased, Which is the rst commandmento all?Jesus answered, The rst o all thecommandments is Hear, O Israel, the Lordour God, the Lord is one[Mar :8-].So the greatest commandment, the mostimportant belie according to Jesus is thatGod is one. I Jesus was God he would haesaid I am God, worship me, but he didnt.

He merel repeated a erse rom the Old

THE MESSAGE OF JESUS THE MESSAGE OF JEESUS

4The Prophets o the Old Testament suchas Abraham, Noah and Jonah neerpreached that God is part o a Trinit, anddid not beliee in Jesus as their saiour.

Their message was simple: there is oneGod and He alone deseres our worship.It doesnt mae sense that God sentProphets or thousands o ears with thesame essential message, and then all o asudden he sas he is in a Trinit and that

ou must beliee in Jesus to be saed.

0


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Testament conrming that God is One.

Some people claim that Jesus came to dieor the sins o the world. But consider theollowing statement o Jesus: This is eternallie: to now ou, the onl true God, andJesus Christ whom ou sent. I hae gloriedou on earth b nishing the wor ou gaeme to do[John :-]. Jesus said this beorehe was caught and taen to be crucied. Itis clear rom this erse that Jesus did not

come to die or the sins o the world, as henished the wor God gae him beore hewas taen to be crucied.

Also Jesus said salation is o the Jews[John :]. So we dont need to beliee inthe Trinit or that Jesus died or our sins toattain salation since the Jews dont hae

these belies.

HIS IS ETERNAL

IFE: TO kNOWOU, THE ONLyRUE GOD, AND

ESUS CHRISTHOM yOU SENT.


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Trinitarian Christianit which is the beliethat God, Jesus and the Hol Spirit are onein three persons became the dominant

sect o Christianit, once it was ormalisedas the state religion o the Roman Empirein the th Centur. Christians who deniedJesus being God were persecuted b theRoman Authorities []. From this pointonwards the Trinitarian belie becamewidespread amongst Christians. Therewere arious moements in earl

Christianit which denied the Trinit,among the more well nown o them isAdoptionism and Arianism.

THE EARLy CHRISTIANS THE EARLy CHRISTIANS

5Historicall there were man sects inearl Christianit who had a range obelies regarding Jesus[]. Some belieedJesus was God, others belieed Jesus was

not God but partl diine, and et othersbelieed he was a human being andnothing more.


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Dr Jerald Dirs who is an epert on earlChristianit had this to sa on the subject:Earl Christianit was quite confictedabout the issue o the nature o Jesus. Thearious Adoptionist positions within earlChristianit were numerous and at timesdominate. One can een speculate thatArian and Nestorian Christianit mightwell be an etremel sizable source withinChristianit toda, i it were not or the actthat these two branches o Christianit,

which were located primaril in the middleeast and in North Arica were so similar tothe Islamic teaching regarding the natureo Jesus that the quite naturall wereabsorbed into Islam at the beginning o theseenth centur.[]

Since there were so man sects in earl

Christianit, each with dierent beliesabout Jesus and with their own ersions othe Bible, which one can we sa was ollow-ing the true teachings o Jesus?

It doesnt mae sense that God sends count-less Prophets lie Noah, Abraham and Mo-ses to tell people to beliee in one God, and

then suddenl sends a radicall dierentmessage o the Trinit which contradictshis preious Prophets teachings. It is clearthat the sect o Christianit who belieedJesus to be a human Prophet and nothingmore, were ollowing the true teachings oJesus. This is because their concept o Godis the same as that which was taught b the

Prophets in the Old Testament.

JESUS IN I


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JESUS IN ISLAM JESUS IN ISLAM JESUS IN ISLAM

The Islamic belie about Jesus

demsties or us who the real Jesuswas. Jesus in Islam was an etraordinarindiidual, chosen b God as a Prophetand sent to the Jewish people. He neerpreached that he himsel was God or theactual son o God.

He was miraculousl born without a ather,and he perormed man amazing miraclessuch as healing the blind and the lepers andraising the dead all b Gods permission.Muslims beliee that Jesus will returnbeore the da o Judgement to bring justiceand peace to the world. This Islamic belie

about Jesus is similar to the belie o someo the earl Christians. In the Quran, Godaddresses the Christians about Jesus in theollowing wa:

O People o the Boo, do not commitecesses in our religion, and do not saanthing about God ecept the truth: the

Messiah, Jesus, son o Mar, was nothingmore than a messenger o God, His word,directed to Mar and a spirit rom Him. Sobeliee in God and His Messengers and donot spea o a Trinit stop [this], that isbetter or ou God is onl one God, He isar aboe haing a son, eerthing in theheaens and earth belongs to Him and He isthe best one to trust. [:]


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Since it has clearl been shown that Jesus isnot God both according to the Bible and orhistorical and rational reasons what is thenet step or ou?

We inite ou to loo urther and inesti-gate Islam. Islam is not just another reli-gion. It is the same message preached bMoses, Jesus and Abraham. Islam literallmeans submission to God and it teaches usto hae a direct relationship with God. It re-

minds us that since God created us, no oneshould be worshipped ecept God alone.It also teaches that God is nothing lie ahuman being or lie anthing that we canimagine. The concept o God is summarisedin the Quran as:

Sa, He is God, the One. God, theAbsolute. He does not gie birth,nor was He born, and there isnothing lie Him*. [:-]

Becoming a Muslim is not changing orlosing our Christian identit. But its go-

ing bac to the original teachings o Jesus.Guidance ultimatel comes rom God. Weas God to guide us and ou. Ma Godspeace and blessing be upon ou or the resto our das. For more inormation on Jesusin Islam, Muhammad (pbuh) in the Bibleand how to gain inner peace, please isitwww.OneReason.org

*God is not male or emale, the word Him when used orGod does not reer to gender


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BELIE

ABOUT JESUDEMySTIFIES FOUS WHO THE REAJESUS WAS. JESUIN ISLAM WAS A

ExTRAORDINARINDIvIDUALCHOSEN By GO

AS A PROPHEAND SENT T

THE JEWISPEOPLE. HE NEvE


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REFERENCES

[] John Eans, Histor o All Christian Sectsand Denominations, ISBN: 08

[] C.N.kolitsas, The Lie and Times o Con-stantine the Great, ISBN: 0

[] Ecerpt rom Islamic Trajectories inEarl Christianit b Dr Jerald Dirs


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THE BOOk, DO

NOT COMMITExCESSES INyOUR RELIGION,AND DO NOTSAy ANyTHING

ABOUT GODExCEPT THETRUTH: THEMESSIAH, JESUS,SON OF MARy,

WAS NOTHINGMORE THAN A


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EXPECT

Jesus is a gure who is loved andrevered by billions of people theworld over. Yet there is so much

confusion surrounding the statusof this colossal personality.Muslims and Christians bothhold Jesus in high regard butview him in verydierent ways.

The questions raisedin this booklet aim toget to the heart of theissues surroundingJesus: Was JesusGod? Or was he sentby God? Who was thereal historical Jesus?

E: [email protected]

The Jesus Confusion by One Reason

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