{"id":894,"date":"2012-07-21T13:16:51","date_gmt":"2012-07-21T11:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/web\/?p=894"},"modified":"2012-07-21T13:16:51","modified_gmt":"2012-07-21T11:16:51","slug":"jesus-christ-son-of-god-part-1-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/?p=894","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Christ \u2013 Son of God? Part 1 of 2"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is<\/span> <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 that a cat has only nine lives.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2014Mark Twain, Pudd\u2019nhead Wilson\u2019s Calendar<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Son of God, son of David, or son of Man? \u00a0Jesus is identified as \u201cson of David\u201d fourteen times in the New Testament, starting with the very first verse (Matthew 1:1).\u00a0 The Gospel of Luke documents forty-one generations between Jesus and David, while Matthew lists twenty-six.\u00a0 Jesus, a distant descendant, can only wear the \u201cson of David\u201d title metaphorically.\u00a0 But how then should we understand the title, \u201cson of God?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cTrilemma,\u201d a common proposal of Christian missionaries, states that \u201cJesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or the Son of God, as he claimed to be.\u201d \u00a0For the sake of argument, let\u2019s agree that Jesus was neither a lunatic nor a liar.\u00a0 Let\u2019s also agree he was precisely<\/em> what he claimed to be.\u00a0 But what, exactly, was that? \u00a0Jesus called himself \u201cSon of Man\u201d frequently, consistently, perhaps even emphatically, but where did he call himself \u201cSon of God?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s back up.\u00a0 What does \u201cSon of God\u201d mean in the first place? \u00a0No legitimate Christian sect suggests that God took a wife and had a child, and most certainly none conceive that God fathered a child through a human mother outside<\/em> of marriage.\u00a0 Furthermore, to suggest that God physically mated with an element of His creation is so far beyond the limits of religious tolerance as to plummet down the sheer cliff of blasphemy, chasing the mythology of the Greeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

With no rational explanation available within the tenets of Christian doctrine, the only avenue for closure is to claim yet one more doctrinal mystery.\u00a0 Here is where the Muslim recalls the question posed in the Quran:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026How can He have a son when He has no consort?…\u201d (Quran 6:101)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2026while others shout, \u201cBut God can do anything!\u201d \u00a0The Islamic position, however, is that God doesn\u2019t do inappropriate things, only Godly<\/em> things.\u00a0 In the Islamic viewpoint, God\u2019s character is integral with His being and consistent with His majesty.<\/span><\/p>\n

So again, what does \u201cSon of God\u201d mean? \u00a0And if Jesus Christ has exclusive rights to the term, why does the Bible record, \u201c…for I (God) am a father to Israel, and Ephraim (i.e. Israel) is my firstborn\u201d (Jeremiah 31:9) and, \u201c…Israel is My son, even my firstborn\u201d (Exodus 4:22)? \u00a0Taken in the context of Romans 8:14, which reads, \u201cFor as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God,\u201d many scholars conclude that \u201cSon of God\u201d is metaphorical and, as with christos, <\/em>doesn\u2019t imply exclusivity.\u00a0 After all, The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion<\/em> confirms that in Jewish idiom \u201cSon of God\u201d is clearly metaphorical.\u00a0 To quote, \u201cSon of God, term occasionally found in Jewish literature, biblical and post-biblical, but nowhere implying physical descent from the Godhead.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Hasting\u2019s Bible Dictionary<\/em> comments:<\/span><\/p>\n

In Semitic usage \u201csonship\u201d is a conception somewhat loosely employed to denote moral rather than physical or metaphysical relationship.\u00a0 Thus \u201csons of Belial\u201d (Jg 19:22 etc.) are wicked men, not descendants of Belial; and in the NT the \u201cchildren of the bridechamber\u201d are wedding guests.\u00a0 So a \u201cson of God\u201d is a man, or even a people, who reflect the character of God.\u00a0 There is little evidence that the title was used in Jewish circles of the Messiah, and a sonship which implied more than a moral relationship would be contrary to Jewish monotheism.[2]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

And in any case, the list of candidates for \u201cson of God\u201d begins with Adam, as per Luke 3:38: \u201c…Adam, which was the son of God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Those who rebut by quoting Matthew 3:17 (\u201cAnd suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, \u2018This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased\u2019\u201d) have overlooked the point that the Bible describes many people, Israel and Adam included, as \u201csons of God.\u201d \u00a0Both II Samuel 7:13-14 and I Chronicles 22:10 read, \u201cHe (Solomon) shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.\u00a0 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Entire nations are referred to as sons, or children of God.\u00a0 Examples include:<\/span><\/p>\n

Genesis 6:2, \u201cThat the sons of God<\/em> saw the daughters of men\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Genesis 6:4, \u201cThere were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God<\/em> came in to the daughters of men\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 14:1, \u201cYe are the children<\/em> of the Lord your God.\u201d <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Job 1:6, \u201cNow there was a day when the sons of God<\/em> came to present themselves before the LORD\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Job 2:1, \u201cAgain there was a day when the sons of God<\/em> came to present themselves before the LORD\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Job 38:7, \u201cWhen the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of <\/em>God shouted for joy?\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Philippians 2:15, \u201cthat you may become blameless and harmless, children of God<\/em> without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1 John 3:1-2, \u201cBehold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God<\/em>! \u2026 Beloved, now we are children of God<\/em>\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In Matthew 5:9 Jesus says, \u201cBlessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.\u201d\u00a0 Later in Matthew 5:45, Jesus prescribed to his followers the attainment of noble attributes, \u201cthat you may be sons of your Father in heaven.\u201d \u00a0Not exclusively his<\/em> Father, but their<\/em> Father \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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Copyright \u00a9 2007 Laurence B. Brown<\/span><\/p>\n

Permission granted for free and unrestricted reproduction if reproduced in entirety without omissions, additions or alterations.<\/span><\/p>\n

A graduate of Cornell University, Brown University Medical School and George Washington University Hospital residency program, Laurence B. Brown is an ophthalmic surgeon, a retired Air Force officer, and the medical director and chief ophthalmologist of a major eye center. He is also an ordained interfaith minister with a doctorate in divinity and a PhD in religion, and the author of a number of books of comparative religion and reality-based fiction. His works can be found on his website, www.LevelTruth.com.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Footnotes:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>\u00a0Werblowsky, R. J. Zwi and Geoffrey Wigoder (editors in chief). 1997. The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion<\/em>. Oxford University Press. p. 653.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>\u00a0Hastings, James. Dictionary of The Bible<\/em>. p. 143.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cOne of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is \u00a0\u00a0 that a cat has only nine lives.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2014Mark Twain, Pudd\u2019nhead Wilson\u2019s Calendar \u00a0 Son of God,...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[119],"tags":[127,103],"class_list":["post-894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comparative-religion","tag-christ","tag-jesus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=894"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":896,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894\/revisions\/896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}