One of the central theme of the teachings of Church is that Jesus is the son of God and only begotten son. This is how they start ascribing something to Jesus which he himself didn't teach. And many of the madeup doctrines hover around this idea that Jesus is God and also Jesus is the only begotten son of God.Lets examine how the actual teaching of Jesus was distorted to makeup this doctrine. I will be using Old Testament and New Testament. The truths are and were always in front of our eyes for centuries.
Since there are many places in the Bible which say there are sons of God, it can be concluded that for someone to be called a "son of God" it conveys a higher religious position according to Biblical context, but it can not be taken to mean the literal Son of God.
There the two following problems when translating from Hebrew and Greek into English.
1. Since Hebrew has no "small" letters, the word son in Hebrew can be translated as Son or son in English.
2. Since Greek has no "small" letters, the word son in Greek can be translated as Son or son in English.
The following verses in the Bible are other references to the sons of God.
"You are gods; you are all Sons of the Most High." (Psalm 82:6)
"The Sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful..." (Genesis 6:2)
"You are children of the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 14:1)
"Satan appeared amongst the Sons of God when they had gone to present themselves before their Lord..."(Job 1:6)
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the Sons of God." (Matthew 5:9)
Adam is called the Son of God. (Luke 3:38)
Ephraim is a Son of God. (Jeremiah 31:9)
Jacob is called the first born Son of God. (Exodus 4:22)
Solomon is called the Son of God. (I Chronicles 22:10)
Comment:
Luke 3:38 says Adam is the son of God, and we use interpretive license to make son into Son (with a capital S), and recall that Adam had neither father nor mother, we could conclude he is the literal Son of God ... However, we have to look at all the other verses and we understand that Adam was a magnificent creation of God, but not the literal son of God.
So what can we conclude about Jesus?
The Jews came to Jesus one time asking him to tell them directly if he is the anointed one. He explains that the works he preformed in his Father's name bear witness that he is the anointed one. He concludes by saying:
"I and the Father are one." The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning me?" The Jews answered him, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy; and because you, being a man, make yourself out to be God." Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, `I said, you are gods'? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, `You are blaspheming' because I said, "I am the Son of God?" (John 10:30-36)
The Jews misinterpreted his first statement when he said, "I and the Father are one." They assumed that he was equating himself with God, which he was not. He was figuratively saying that he is one with God in purpose. This is illustrated in another passage when Jesus prays to God on behalf of his followers. He asks God that they would be one in purpose the same way that he and God are one in purpose. He says, "... that they may be one, just as we are one; I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be perfected in unity...." (John 17:22,23). What did Jesus mean when he prayed for his followers to be one? He certainly didn't mean that they would be equal in a metaphysical sense but rather that they would be united in conveying the message he had given them, just as Jesus conveyed the message he had received from God.
The explanation Jesus gives in the former passage also clarifies that he is not saying he is the literal son of God. He has taken the metaphorical title given to prophets and princes in the Old Testament. The scripture he was referring to comes from Psalm 82:6,7 where it says, "I said, `You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless you will die like men, and fall like any one of the princes.'" In a metaphorical sense, Jesus considered himself one of the "sons of God." Bible translators have misinterpreted this statement, capitalized the word Son, taken it out of context, and made it into a title as the "Son of God", which Jesus himself would have considered blasphemous.
Some may argue that this doctrine has little implication in our life? What is Jesus is not 'only begotten son of God' or what if he is?
When the understanding of our own nature is covered up ... when the very foundation of our own being is misrepresentated by some power hungry people, what can we expect from our own self?
Look at the west and the rest of the world? Has human being realized his Divine Nature, are they realizing? or Are they allowed to? Faithfuls turn to some high priests who misguide them so that they keep their power and authority?
Apart from the spiritual implications, there are some serious practical implications for our life. We will seek those answers when we uncover more from the Truth.
The bottom line is, all human being has the divine trace in us. From Adam to the last human being all are created in the Image of God. So exclusively putting the label to someone means we are made to underestimate our own nature. We are made to forget who we all really are ...
May God bless us all and may God show us the Truth as it is. Amen.
Tag: Jesus, Spiritual, Da Vinci Code, Truth, Christianity, Truth, Da Vinci Secrets
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