Difference between revisions of "Points of Contention with the Nature of Christ"

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(Was Jesus an ascetic?)
(Did Jesus fear being killed?)
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== Did Jesus fear being killed? ==
 
== Did Jesus fear being killed? ==
*'''Yes.''' Jesus repeatedly feared for his life:
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*'''Yes.''' Jesus feared for his life:
**Jesus escaped when he discovered the Pharisees plot to kill him (MAT 12:14-15).
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**Jesus escaped when he discovered the Pharisees' plot to kill him (MAT 12:14-15).
 
**Jesus would not walk among the Jews, because he was afraid they would kill him (JOH 7:1; 11:53-54). This is why Jesus repeatedly ran and hid (JOH 8:59; JOH 10:39).
 
**Jesus would not walk among the Jews, because he was afraid they would kill him (JOH 7:1; 11:53-54). This is why Jesus repeatedly ran and hid (JOH 8:59; JOH 10:39).
*'''No.''' Jesus taught that you should not fear things that can kill your body, because they cannot kill your soul (MAT 10:27-28; LUK 12:4).
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*'''No.''' Jesus taught that you should not fear things which can kill your body, because they cannot kill your soul (MAT 10:27-28; LUK 12:4).
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== Can Jesus inherit David's throne? ==
 
== Can Jesus inherit David's throne? ==
 
*'''No.''' God dictated that Josiah’s son, Jehoiakim, and grandson, Jeconiah (1CHR 3:15-17), and all of their descendants (JER 36:31) are permanently banned from inheriting the throne of David (JER 36:30). Jesus can never inherit the throne of David, because his earthly father, Joseph was a direct descendant of Jechonias (MAT 1:1, 11-16).
 
*'''No.''' God dictated that Josiah’s son, Jehoiakim, and grandson, Jeconiah (1CHR 3:15-17), and all of their descendants (JER 36:31) are permanently banned from inheriting the throne of David (JER 36:30). Jesus can never inherit the throne of David, because his earthly father, Joseph was a direct descendant of Jechonias (MAT 1:1, 11-16).

Revision as of 04:27, 7 May 2018

Was Jesus deceitful?

  • No. Jesus explicitly taught that deceit was evil, defiling (MAR 7:22-23), and Satanic (MAT 5:37).
  • Yes. Jesus told his disciples that he would not go to the feast, but secretly went anyway after they left (JOH 7:6-10).

Who was Jesus' message for?

  • Jesus' message was intended for all men (JOH 1:7; 12:32; 18:20; ACT 17:31; ROM 5:18).
  • Jesus' message was reserved for the initiated (MAT 13:10).

Was Jesus spiteful?

  • No. Jesus used his dying breath to ask that his killers be forgiven, since they acted out of ignorance, and not malice (LUK 23:34).
  • Yes. Jesus cursed the innocent, as demonstrated when he miraculously and spitefully killed a fig tree for not producing fruit (MAR 11:12-14).

Did Jesus believe that you could receive all things?

  • No. Despite his miraculous power, Jesus could not receive fruit from a barren tree (MAR 11:12-14).
  • Yes. Jesus taught that with faith, one can have anything one desires (MAR 11:21-23).

Was Jesus humble?

  • Yes. Jesus was “meek and lowly in heart” (MAT 11:29).
  • No. Jesus was a prima donna:
    • Jesus went on about how people are not worthy of him (MAT 10:38).
    • Jesus rebuked his worshipers (MAT 15:22, 25), and openly told them that he couldn’t stand their company (MAT 17:17; 9:18).
    • Jesus ordered his followers to put his needs before that of their families (LUK 14:26) and to obey his every command (JOH 15:14).

Was Jesus an angry person?

  • No. Jesus preached against anger, stating that it was grounds for damnation (MAT 5:22).
  • Yes. Jesus was explicitly shown to be angry (MAR 3:4-5) and verbally abusive (MAT 3:7; LUK 11:38, 40) to the Pharisees.

Did Jesus love his enemies?

  • Yes. Loving one’s enemies (MAT 5: 44; LUK 6:27) and overcoming them through passive-aggression (MAT 5:39) were Jesus’ core teachings.
  • No. Christ explicitly stated that his enemies should be slain before him (LUK 19:26-27).

What was Jesus’ opinion on the uncommitted?

  • “Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us” (LUK 9:50).
  • “He that is not with me is against me” (LUK 11:23).

Was Jesus the Messiah?

  • Yes. Jesus claimed to be the messiah (LUK 4:18; JOH 4:25-26) and was accepted as such (JOH 1:41).
  • No, because Jesus failed to fulfill the prophecies:
    • Jesus did not fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy of subduing other nations (ISA 44:28, 45:1).
    • Jesus did not fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy of being the harbinger of the Day of Vengeance (ISA 61:1-2). Jesus omitted this detail when he made his messianic claims, replacing it with his miracle of restoring sight to the blind (LUK 4:17-19).
    • Jesus didn’t fulfill the prophecy, because he didn’t assume the throne of David (LUK 1:32), as his kingdom was “not of this world (JOH 18:36).”
    • The Messiah’s reason-for-being was to redeem the Israelites (LUK 2:34-28) which Jesus failed to do (LUK 24:19-21; ACT 1:6) due to his premature death (JOH 12:34).

Were there other Christs?

  • No, because “to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1COR 8:6).
  • Yes, because there were other saviors. Cyrus is also referred to as “the Lord’s anointed,” i.e., the messiah (ISA 45:1).
  • Sort of, there were other saviors, but they were also Jesus. If the bread which Jesus served at the Last Supper was truly transubstantiated, then Christ inhabits multiple bodies (MAT 26:26).

Was Jesus perfect?

  • Yes. Jesus was “undefiled” (HEB 7:26) and “without blemish” or other spots (1PET 1:19).
  • No. Jesus was imperfect:
    • Jesus did not think of himself as being good (MAR 10:18).
    • The Bible states that Jesus was "made perfect" by his resurrection, which implies that he was previously imperfect (HEB 5:9).
    • Jesus’ miracles had shoddy results -- the blind man who Jesus healed still had poor eyesight -- to the point where he thought that people were walking trees (MAR 8:23-24).

Was Jesus without sin?

  • Yes. Jesus was able to experience all the human frailties which sin causes without experiencing sin itself (HEB 4:15).
  • Yes and no. Jesus was originally without sin, but he was made “to be in sin” (2COR 5:21). Otherwise, he could not have died on the cross, since “the wages of sin is death” (ROM 6:23).
  • No. If Jesus was without sin, then he would not have needed John’s baptism, which was for the repentance of sins (MAR 1:4-9). Jesus needed such a baptism, because he sinned on multiple occasions:
    • Jesus preached the earlier Commandment of “Honour thy father and mother” (MAR 10:19), yet Jesus treated Mary disrespectfully (JOH 2:3-4) and insulted her by implying that she was not blessed (LUK 11:27-28). Jesus further insulted her by denying that he had a family (MAT 12:46-50).
    • God’s Commandments explicitly prohibit coveting other’s people’s property (EXO 20:17). Despite reiterating God’s law against stealing (MAR 10:19), Jesus ordered his disciples to steal people’s animals (MAT 21:2), simply because he wanted them (MAT 21:3).
    • Abstaining from working on the Sabbath is one of God’s commandments (EXO 20:8-10). Jesus’ reluctance to obey the Sabbath marked him for termination (JOH 5:18), because his miracles were illicit, though benevolent (JOH 9:4, 6, 14).
    • It is sinful for people to remain silent when their testimony could prove someone’s innocence (LEV 5:1). While the Gospels disagree on the details, they agree that Jesus committed this sin in some form; either by remaining silent at his own trial (MAT 27:13-14), or by condemning himself by confessing (MAR 14:60-61).
    • Although he was to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (DEU 6:5), Jesus was convinced that God had forsaken him, and Jesus filled his dying words with this despair (MAT 27:46; MAR 15:34).
    • The Bible commands people to swear by God’s name (DEU 6:13), a practice which Jesus denounced (MAT 5:34).

Was Jesus created by God?

  • Yes. Jesus is God’s only child (JOH 3:16).
    • God created Jesus to be superior the angels, and was more excellent than any of them (HEB 1:4).
    • God created Jesus to be inferior to the angels, so that he could be eventually killed (HEB 2:9).
  • No. Jesus could not have been created by God, because he was God (JOH 10:30; 14:9-11). Jesus was also the Word (JOH 1:14), which “was with God, and the Word was God” (JOH 1:1).

Who is Jesus the son of?

  • The Son of God (JOH 10:36; ACT 8:37).
  • The Son of Man (MAT 16:13; LUK 19:10).

Who is the light of the world?

  • Jesus is (JOH 9:3-5).
  • You are (MAT 5:14).

In the end, was Jesus blessed?

  • Yes. The crucifixion imbued Jesus with “power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (REV 5:12).
  • No. Although Jesus redeemed us, he is cursed, because everyone who hangs on a cross is intrinsically cursed (GAL 3:13).

Is Jesus the only immortal?

  • Yes. The Bible explicitly states that Jesus Christ is the only immortal person (1TIM 6:14-16).
  • No. Whoever participates in communion will become immortal once Christ raises them from the dead on Judgement Day (MAR 10:29-30; JOH 6:54, 10:28; ROM 6:23; 1COR 15:54; 2TIM 1:10; 1JOH 5:11).

Is Jesus omnipotent?

  • Yes. God had granted all of his powers and abilities to Jesus (MAT 28:18; JOH 3:35).
  • No. Jesus is not all-powerful:
    • Jesus does not have the power to determine the seating arrangements in the heavenly court, since that power is reserved for God (MAT 20:23).
    • Jesus was unable to make a barren fig tree produce fruit, to abate his hunger (MAR 11:12-14). Also, an all-powerful Jesus could have made himself immune to hunger.
    • Jesus admitted that he could do nothing himself (MAR 6:5); he only did what God was going to do anyway (JOH 5:19).

Is Jesus omniscient?

  • Yes. “Jesus knowest all things” (JOH 16:30; 21:17) and hidden within him are “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (COL 2:2-3).
  • No. Jesus doesn't know everything:
    • God keeps the exact date of Judgment Day a secret from everyone, including Jesus (MAR 13:32).
    • Jesus did not know that it was the bleeding woman who had touched him (LUK 8:45).
    • Jesus did not know the whereabouts of Lazarus (JOH 11:33-34).

Is Jesus omnipresent?

  • Sort of. Jesus is anywhere where two or more gather in his name (MAT 18:20), and he is with those who teach his message “always, even unto the end of the world” (MAT 28:20).
  • No. Jesus stated that he won’t always be around (MAT 26:11), since he was going to leave to where men cannot follow (JOH 13:36; JOH 16:7,28).

Was Jesus peaceful?

  • Yes. Jesus believed that peacemakers were blessed (MAT 5:9), and he gifts his peace to others. (LUK 2:14; JOH 14:27, 16:33; ACT 10:36; 2THE 3:16).
  • No. Jesus “came not to send peace, but a sword” (MAT 10:34). Jesus dismissed the idea of world peace, and sought to divide the world further (LUK 12:51) and break up families (MAT 10:35-36). Jesus advised his followers that if they did not own swords, they should sell all of their clothes to raise the money needed to buy a sword (LUK 22:36).

Is Jesus merciful?

  • Yes. Jesus did not “come to destroy men's lives, but to save them” (LUK 9:56), because he came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (LUK 19:10).
  • No. The Book of Revelation is highlighted by “the wrath of the Lamb” (REV 6:16). When Christ returns, he will “judge and make war” (REV 19:11), wear clothes dipped in blood, smite nations with words alone, and rule with an iron rod and the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (REV 19:13-15).

What is Jesus like?

  • Like a lion (REV 5:5).
  • Like a lamb (JOH 1:36).

Was Jesus like a shepherd?

  • Yes. “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (JOH 10:11). This is a reoccurring theme (HEB 13:20; 1PET 2:25).
  • No. Jesus is like a sheep (JOH 1:36; ACT 8:32; REV 7:14).

Does Jesus change?

  • Yes! Jesus obviously changed, because he was a lowly construction worker who was a previously-glorious being who was with, and who also was, the immortal God of all-creation (JOH 17:1-5).
  • Yes. Jesus obviously changed because he grew from a baby (LUK 2:7) into a man (LUK 2:52).
  • No. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (HEB 13:8).

Was Jesus an ascetic?

  • Yes. Jesus was an ascetic because he:
    • Went on a 40-day religious retreat into the wilderness (MAT 4:1-2).
    • Had no regard for treasures (MAT 6:19), his life, food, drink, his body, or his clothing (MAT 6:25) and he had nowhere to lay his head (MAT 8:20).
    • Advised his disciples to preach without any pocket money, baggage, extra clothing, shoes, or walking sticks, and to work for food (MAT 10:7-10).
  • No. Unlike the Pharisees, the disciples did not fast (MAT 9:10-14). Jesus was described as both a glutton and a wino (MAT 11:18).

Did Jesus fear being killed?

  • Yes. Jesus feared for his life:
    • Jesus escaped when he discovered the Pharisees' plot to kill him (MAT 12:14-15).
    • Jesus would not walk among the Jews, because he was afraid they would kill him (JOH 7:1; 11:53-54). This is why Jesus repeatedly ran and hid (JOH 8:59; JOH 10:39).
  • No. Jesus taught that you should not fear things which can kill your body, because they cannot kill your soul (MAT 10:27-28; LUK 12:4).

Can Jesus inherit David's throne?

  • No. God dictated that Josiah’s son, Jehoiakim, and grandson, Jeconiah (1CHR 3:15-17), and all of their descendants (JER 36:31) are permanently banned from inheriting the throne of David (JER 36:30). Jesus can never inherit the throne of David, because his earthly father, Joseph was a direct descendant of Jechonias (MAT 1:1, 11-16).
  • Maybe? Despite a direct mandate from God, Jeconiah still becomes the King of Judah (EST 2:6).
  • Yes. God will give the throne of David to Jesus (LUK 1:31-32).

Will Christ's Kingdom end?

  • Yes. Christ’s kingdom will eventually come to an end (1COR 15:24-25, 28).
  • No. Christ’s kingdom “shall not pass away” (DAN 7:14), and last forever (HEB 1:8) without end (LUK 1:33).

Will Jesus always be with his disciples?

  • Yes, because, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (MAT 28:20).
  • No. “For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always” (MAT 26:11).

Will Jesus' followers die before he returns?

  • No. Those who lived in the time of Jesus will live to see the Second Coming (MAR 13:26, 30).
  • Yes. Some of Jesus’ followers will die, since they will be the first to rise (1THE 4:16).
  • Maybe? Jesus tells his followers that will be betrayed and killed, yet they will not be injured in the process (LUK 21:16-18).

Will the keepers of Jesus' words die?

  • Yes. The keepers of Jesus’ teachings will be killed and hated by every nation (MAT 24:9).
  • No. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death” (JOH 8:5).

Are the dead with Jesus?

  • Yes. Jesus explicitly stated the dead will follow him into Heaven (LUK 23:43). This is a generally-accepted precept (2COR 5:8; PHILI 1:23).
    • Stephen gave his spirit to Jesus when he was stoned (ACT 7:59).
  • No. Because “whither I go, ye cannot come” (JOH 13:33). Only Christ can ascend to Heaven, and even King David is unworthy of entry (ACT 2:34).

Was Jesus the prophet Moses had predicted?

  • Unconfirmed.Jesus arbitrarily declared himself to be the prophet Moses spoke of (LUK 24:44; JOH 5:46), a notion that was parroted by his disciples (JOH 1:45, ACT 3:22, ACT 26:22).

Is God always with Jesus?

  • Yes. Jesus and God are one (JOH 10:30), because God dwells inside him (JOH 14:10), and is with him even when he is alone (JOH 16:32).
  • No. The dying Jesus was convinced that God had forsaken him (MAR 15:34).