Jesus As the Son of God
When Jesus rose from the dead the disciples realized that they needed
new ways of describing him to reflect his amazing power and holiness.
They scoured the Hebrew and Jewish scriptures looking for something
appropriate to call him by and came up with titles such as "Messiah",
"Son of Man", "Son of David" and "Son of God". In the end Son of God
became the most popular of these titles so that is what he became best
known as. It is therefore the subject of my coursework.
What Does It Mean When Christians Talk About Jesus As Son of God
In the Old Testament, the words "Son of God" often meant someone who
had a special relationship with God. However, Mark was also much
influenced by the prophet Daniel, who spoke of the coming of the "Son
of Man with the authority of God."
Mark uses the title in the very first sentence of his gospel. "The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God" He only uses
these words two other times in the whole of the gospel (3:11 and
15:39). When Mark uses it in the Baptism he is saying that Jesus has
now been baptised and God now recognises him as his son, "You are my
own dear son, I am proud of you." This may not have meant anything
more significant than it did in the Old Testament. At the
Transfiguration, a voice from the cloud said, "This is my son, the
beloved" and it is clear the voice of God was referring again to
Jesus. The same words are used at both the Baptism and the
Transfiguration, so it is likely that it meant the same in both cases.
Mark mentions the Holy Spirit in the Baptism. This is the only time
that he refers to it and this might suggest that he be...
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...t that it is an open issue and people should be allowed their
own views. Faith is not an exact truth and debate can help people
cement their beliefs.
I would say that it is important to retain the title because this
alone does not deter people from becoming Christians. Christians
usually want to join the Church because of what they believe in, not
because the faith is undecided on one issue. If the title were
scrapped, this would mean changing something that has been in
existence for around 2000 years and has been so central to
Christianity for so long. Changing a historical religion now is far
more likely to put people off than disagreement over what a title
means.
Therefore, I think there is absolutely no case for dropping it.
Dispensing with the title of Son of God would cause more trouble than
it saved.
often referred to as the Son of God.) I feel that these are the two
were, Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon,
Nicholas Wolterstorff debated God could not be “The One” charged with the duty of restoring the rights of another and avenging their wrongs (Lev. 25:48, 49; Num. 5:8; Ruth 4:1; Job 19:25; Ps. 19:14; 78:35, etc.). This title was given to The Only One named Jesus Christ, The Saviour of mankind, Who sacrificed His own life to redeem mankind from the bondage and guilt of their sins, Who redeemed Israel from Babylonian where He was exiled, Isa 41:14. The “Redeemer” is a quality that is distinctive of a particular person, a title given to The Only Begotten Son of God in the second part of Isaiah, because He must be able to make or become different.
Throughout Jesus’ life he has effected many people for the better. But each person sees Jesus in a different way and interprets his almighty powers differently. This is where all of these Gospels came from. Each one is unique and talks about Jesus from each authors point of view. For example in the gospel of Luke there are many themes and ideas that are unique to the gospel and wouldn’t find in the other ones like salvation for the people by Jesus being portrayed as the Universal Savor, the Messianic Secret, God’s plan and the focus on poverty and the wealthy.
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The book, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright is a conversation of sorts between, “The Leading Liberal and Conservative Jesus Scholars” as they “Present the Heart of the Historical Jesus Debate.” In the introduction, the scholars note that the inspiration and writing of the book grew out of friendship. The book is evidence of the public and private conversations between these scholars and friends, sharing in Christian faith and practice as they work through these complex issues in hopes of understanding each other better. Both, “…acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as Lord, and [we] regard the no-holds-barred study of his actual history as a vital part of what we mean by that” (viii).
We can see the birth of Jesus in Matthew (Matt 1:18-25) (Matt 2:1-12), Luke (Luke 2:1-2) and John (John1:1-18). Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus’ birth place was in Bethlehem in Judea in the time of King Herod of Judea and Emperor Augustine of the Roman Empire. The gospels tell us that Jesus was born in a stable under an inn (Luke 2:7). This is unlikely because Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, who was Joseph’s ancestor. This means that there may have been a house with his cousins or extended family there. The Hebrew word for inn can also be described as ‘the upper room’ and in traditional Jewish houses, there was an upper room where the family stayed and underneath this was the place where the animals were kept. This could have been seen as the stable under the ‘inn’. Now because of the census performed by Emperor Augustine the Jews had to travel to their ancestral home that meant that the house Mary and Joseph were staying at could have been full, so the upper room was full, making the only available room for the baby to be born in the stable below. Jesus was thought to be traditionally born in 1AD after the Monk Dionysus Exigus tried to calculate the year, from the Birth of Jesus, by taking away the reigns of Kings. Unfortunately Exigus made a few errors and Jesus is now thought to be born a few years BC. We know that in Matt 2:1 and Matt2:16 (Luke 1:55) that King Herod the Great was the ruler of Judea. From Roman records we know that King Herod died in 4BC near the feast of the Passover. This means that the earliest time Jesus could have been born was early 4BC. Herod plays an integral part in determining Jesus birth date because it also could explain the Bethlehem Star, which we...
The resurrection of Jesus is a topic in Christian Apologetic that confirms the faith of a believer. Groothuis submits, “Of all the world’s religions Christianity alone purports to be based on the resurrection of its divine founder. No other religion or worldview makes such an audacious and consequential claim. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus himself predicts his own betrayal, death and resurrection.”1 The Bible reveals the importance of the resurrection in Corinthians 15:14-17, “And if Christ wasn’t raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. If the dead won’t be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not. So if the dead won’t be raised to life, Christ wasn’t raised to life. Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins.”
After reading the chapter on Luke and knowing what I already know about Jesus and his
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Whether or not we notice it, Art is always around. It can come in the form of a beautiful painting in the Smithsonian Museum, a sculpture by Michelangelo, or as graffiti on the wall. Whatever the form, art is always present. Additionally, art is not new; for as long as there have been people, there has been art. Though rare, early Christian art manages to express, in picture form, a story from the bible. One piece, which was actual a mural painted in the fourth century, on walls of the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Raveena, Italy, depicts Christ teaching his apostles. Just a few miles away in a Vatican City museum is a statue from the third century which also depicts Christ as the Good Shepherd.
I read about Jesus in the four gospels of the New Testament. In their narratives of his birth, Matthew and Luke call him the virgin-born Savior, the Lord Christ Jesus, the Holy One, the So of the Most High, the Son of God, and Immanuel, which means "God with us." Mark does not give us an account of Christ's birth, but he dows introduce him as Jesus Christ, the son of God.
The image of Jesus nailed to a wooden cross by the palms of his hands and with a crown of thorns wrapped around his head is one that has transcended all time barriers. It has inclusive been replicated into figure form that is utilized in various ways but whose primary function is to serve as a constant reminder of the physical suffering endured by Jesus. In The Dream of the Rood however, the perception of Jesus Christ as not only the son of God and savior of mankind but also as a human with the capacity to feel pain, is subverted when through the perspective of a personified cross he is conveyed as a warrior in the midst of combat. The portrayal of Jesus in this way immediately evokes the image of an ideal stereotypical hero who is strong, courageous, and unrelenting in appearance. Nevertheless, it can be said that this type of hero is more inclined towards fantasy than it is based on reality because these idealized heroic figures have only ever truly existed in a fictional universe. The depiction of Jesus as a warrior thus, undermines forms of heroism that stem from explicit suffering that is not concealed but rather expressed by the individual.
Leadership has no consistent definition. In my opinion, leadership basically entails the ability of a person to influence, motivate and inspire others. A leader is someone who is able to create change among people. Examples of leaders are mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther king jnr, prophet Mohammed as well as Jesus Christ who I will be discussing in terms of Christianity.