{"id":897,"date":"2012-07-21T13:21:19","date_gmt":"2012-07-21T11:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/web\/?p=897"},"modified":"2012-07-21T13:21:19","modified_gmt":"2012-07-21T11:21:19","slug":"jesus-christ-son-of-god-part-2-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/?p=897","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Christ \u2013 Son of God? Part 2 of 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Christian clergy openly acknowledge that Jesus never called himself \u201cson of God,\u201d however they claim that others did.\u00a0 This too has an answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investigating the manuscripts that make up the New Testament, one finds that the alleged \u201csonship\u201d of Jesus is based upon the mistranslation of two Greek words\u2014pais<\/em> and huios<\/em>, both of which are translated as \u201cson.\u201d \u00a0However, this translation appears disingenuous.\u00a0 The Greek word pais<\/em> derives from the Hebrew ebed<\/em>, which bears the primary meaning of servant, or slave.\u00a0 Hence, the primary translation of pais<\/em> theou<\/em> is \u201cservant of God,\u201d with \u201cchild\u201d or \u201cson of God\u201d being an extravagant embellishment.\u00a0 According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, <\/em>\u201cThe Hebrew original of pais<\/em> in the phrase pais theou<\/em>, i.e., ebed<\/em>, carries a stress on personal relationship and has first the sense of \u2018slave.\u2019\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0This is all the more interesting because it dovetails perfectly with the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1, upheld in Matthew 12:18: \u201cBehold, My servant [i.e., from the Greek pais<\/em>] whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom my soul is well pleased\u00a0\u2026\u201d Whether a person reads the King James Version, New King James Version, New Revised Standard Version, or New International Version, the word is \u201cservant\u201d in all cases.\u00a0 Considering that the purpose of revelation is to make the truth of God clear, one might think this passage an unsightly mole on the face of the doctrine of divine sonship.\u00a0 After all, what better place for God to have declared Jesus His son? \u00a0What better place to have said, \u201cBehold, My son whom I have begotten \u2026\u201d? \u00a0But He didn\u2019t<\/em> say that.\u00a0 For that matter, the doctrine lacks biblical support in the recorded words of both Jesus and God, and there is good reason to wonder why.\u00a0 Unless, that is, Jesus was nothing more than the servant of God this passage describes.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Regarding the religious use of the word ebed<\/em>, \u201cThe term serves as an expression of humility used by the righteous before God.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Furthermore, \u201cAfter 100 B.C. pais theou<\/em> more often means \u201cservant of God,\u201d as when applied to Moses, the prophets, or the three children (Bar. 1:20; 2:20; Dan. 9:35).\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0A person can easily get into doctrinal quicksand: \u201cOf eight instances of this phrase, one refers to Israel (Lk. 1:54), two refer to David (Lk\u00a01:69; Acts 4:25), and the other five to Jesus (Mt. 12:18; Acts 3:13, 26; 4:27, 30)\u2026. In the few instances in which Jesus is called pais theou<\/em> we obviously have early tradition.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0So Jesus did not have exclusive rights to this term, and where it was employed the term \u201cobviously\u201d stemmed from \u201cearly tradition.\u201d \u00a0Furthermore, the translation, if impartial, should identify all individuals to whom the phrase was applied in similar manner.\u00a0 Such, however, has not been the case.\u00a0 Whereas pais<\/em> has been translated \u201cservant\u201d in reference to David (Acts 4:25 and Luke 1:69) and Israel (Luke 1:54), it is translated \u201cSon\u201d or \u201choly child\u201d in reference to Jesus (Acts 3:13; 3:26; 4:27; 4:30).\u00a0 Such preferential treatment is canonically consistent, but logically flawed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly an interesting, if not key, religious parallel is uncovered: \u201cThus the Greek phrase pais tou theou<\/em>, \u2018servant of God,\u2019 has exactly the same connotation as the Muslim name Abdallah\u2014the \u2018servant of Allah.\u2019\u201d[5]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The symmetry is all the more shocking, for the Holy Qur\u2019an relates Jesus as having identified himself as just this\u2014Abdallah (abd<\/em> being Arabic for slave or servant, Abd-Allah [also spelled \u201cAbdullah\u201d] meaning slave or servant of Allah).\u00a0 According to the story, when Mary returned to her family with the newborn Jesus, they accused her of being unchaste.\u00a0 Speaking from the cradle in a miracle that gave credence to his claims, baby Jesus defended his mother\u2019s virtue with the words, \u201cInni Abdullah \u2026<\/em>\u201d which means, \u201cI am indeed a servant of Allah \u2026\u201d (TMQ 19:30)<\/span><\/p>\n

Translation of the New Testament Greek huios<\/em> to \u201cson\u201d (in the literal meaning of the word) is similarly flawed.\u00a0 On page 1210 of Kittel and Friedrich\u2019s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament<\/em>, the meaning of huios<\/em> journeys from the literal (Jesus the son of Mary), to mildly metaphorical (believers as sons of the king [Matt. 17:25-26]), to politely metaphorical (God\u2019s elect being sons of Abraham [Luke 19:9]), to colloquially metaphorical (believers as God\u2019s sons [Matt. 7:9 and Heb 12:5]), to spiritually metaphorical (students as sons of the Pharisees [Matt. 12:27, Acts 23:6]), to biologically metaphorical (as in John 19:26, where Jesus describes his favorite disciple to Mary as \u201cher son\u201d), to blindingly metaphorical as \u201csons of the kingdom\u201d (Matt. 8:12), \u201csons of peace\u201d (Luke. 10:6), \u201csons of light\u201d (Luke. 16:8), and of everything from \u201csons of this world\u201d (Luke 16:8) to \u201csons of thunder\u201d (Mark 3:17).\u00a0 It is as if this misunderstood word for \u201cson\u201d is waving a big sign on which is painted in bold letters: METAPHOR! \u00a0Or, as Stanton eloquently puts it, \u201cMost scholars agree that the Aramaic or Hebrew word behind \u2018son\u2019 is \u2018servant.\u2019 \u00a0So as the Spirit descends on Jesus at his baptism, Jesus is addressed by the voice from heaven in terms of Isaiah 42:1: \u2018Behold my servant \u2026 my chosen \u2026 I have put my Spirit upon him.\u2019 \u00a0So although Mark 1:11 and 9:7 affirm that Jesus is called by God to a special messianic task, the emphasis is on Jesus\u2019 role as the anointed servant, rather than as Son of God.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/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>\u00a0Kittel, Gerhard and Gerhard Friedrich (editors). 1985. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.<\/em> Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Paternoster Press Ltd. p. 763.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>\u00a0Ibid. p. 763.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>\u00a0Ibid. p. 765.<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>\u00a0Ibid. p. 767.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>\u00a0Carmichael, Joel, M.A. 1962. The Death of Jesus<\/em>. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 255-6.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>\u00a0Stanton, Graham N. 1989. The Gospels and Jesus<\/em>. Oxford University Press. p. 225.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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