RE: Atheists and Christians - Attacked From All Sides
Hey @pretradition! Sorry for the late reply - had a busy couple of days so I was not near a computer long enough to reply to this comment, I apologize.
As I was humbly corrected by a fellow Steemian, I believe Jesus was begotten (brought into existence) through the virgin birth of Mary. Through this process, we cannot claim He is Man because it would be impossible for man to procreate without a human being of the opposite sex. Thus, the perfect birth of Christ is one miracle work that was prophesied in the Old Testament, and fulfilling the work of the Lord.
Jesus also lived as a human being; but did supernatural activities including healing the sick, casting out demons, bringing the dead back to life, etc. Now, did Jesus ever specifically mention that He was God? No, not explicitly; but, we can conclude with confidence that His life was sinless and perfect, characteristics only God could have.
I'd be curious to know what you think about John 10:30 in the NT, where Jesus states that "I and the Father are one" Father being God the Father, not Joseph.
I'd like to end with this. If Jesus was not God, then His death and resurrection would being meaningless, since He'd be a mere man. Jesus must be God, or else all Christians would be fools to follow a superior man. This is my viewpoint!
Thanks for sharing :)
I too believe in the virgin birth as described in the Bible. I believe that just as God has to power to form Adam from the dust, God can form life within Mary. I believe the Bible is true though in saying that Jesus is a man.(Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son)
Jesus' power was not his own. (John 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.) This power was also given to the Apostles (Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.). Jesus was sinless and that is why he is able to atone for our sins but it is wrong to assume that this makes him God.
In John 10:30 Jesus says "I and the Father are one". If being one meant one being or one God, then how do we reconcile that with John 17:21-23 where Jesus prays that we would be one as they are one. Should we consider ourselves equal to God? No, of course not. We are one in Spirit.
I do follow a man, but not just a mere man. I follow Jesus Christ, God's chosen one and His beloved Son. This is what the Bible teaches and I accept it because it is God's will. To even say that God can die is beyond understanding. To say that a resurrection from the dead is meaningless is crazy. If sin and death came to all by one man, then why cannot grace and life come to many through another? We put our faith in Jesus because the resurrection proves that he is the Son of God, the Christ.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
No writer in the Bible believed in a Trinity and no Jew believed in a trinity. If this doctrine were true don't you believe it would have been taught? A new understanding of God would be a huge deal. Take a moment to really think about it.