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The following are questions with
answers taken from various Wikipedia articles. This is to
highlight some relevant points on the subject—"Conceptions
of Jesus Christ"—people should understand before continuing
the bible study. The answers are excerpts taken from the
full articles written on the subject. You can readily study
the full articles by clicking on the source link after each
answer.
Note: The answers to the following religious questions
are taken from various Wikipedia articles due to their
neutral point of view principle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view
However, we still highly recommend that you search the
internet for more information on the subject.
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The controversy
as to who Jesus Christ really is, that is, how He should be
correctly known regarding His person and nature traces its
roots in the first century and continues to this day. For
at present, there exist many so-called Christian religions, all professing belief
in Jesus Christ but with conflicting beliefs on who Jesus
truly is.
Who is Jesus Christ
3A.1
Who is Jesus Christ?
From the Wikipedia
articles on Jesus and Christ, these are written:
Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5
BC/BCE – c. 30 AD/CE),[3]
also known as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus,
is the central figure of Christianity, which views
him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament,
with most Christian denominations believing him to
be the Son of God and God incarnate who was raised
from the dead.[6]
Islam considers Jesus a prophet and also the
Messiah.[7]
Several other religions revere him in some way. He
is one of the most influential figures in human
history.
Source: Wikipedia, Jesus,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus (as of Apr. 14, 2010, 21:30 GMT).
Christ is the
English term for the
Greek
Χριστός (Khristós)
meaning "the
anointed one".[1]
It is a translation
of the Hebrew
מָשִׁיחַ
(Māšîaḥ),
usually
transliterated into
English as
Messiah. The
word is often
misunderstood to be
the surname of Jesus
due to the numerous
mentions of Jesus
Christ in the
Christian Bible. The
word is in fact used
as a title, hence
its common
reciprocal use
Christ Jesus,
meaning "Jesus
The Anointed One",
or "Jesus The
Messiah".
Followers of Jesus
became known as
Christians because
they believed that
Jesus was the
Christ, or Messiah,
prophesied about in
the Tanakh (which
Christians term the
Old Testament). The
majority of Jews
reject this claim
and are still
waiting for Christ
to come (see Jewish
Messiah). Most
Christians now wait
for the Second
Coming of Christ
when they believe he
will fulfill the
rest of the
Messianic prophecy.
Source: Wikipedia,
Christ,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ
(as of Apr. 14,
2010, 21:35 GMT).
Jesus Christ is known
as follows:
- Jesus
of Nazareth (c. 5 BC/BCE – c. 30 AD/CE), also known
as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus.
-
Christ is the English term for the Greek Khristós
meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of
the Hebrew (Māšîa),
usually transliterated into English as Messiah.
The word is in fact used as a title, hence its
common reciprocal use Christ Jesus, meaning "Jesus
The Anointed One", or "Jesus The Messiah".
- Jesus
Christ is the central figure of Christianity, which
views him as the Messiah foretold in the Old
Testament. Islam considers Jesus a prophet and
also the Messiah. The majority of Jews rejects this
claim and are still waiting for the Jewish Messiah
to come.
Christian Views of Jesus Christ
3A.2
How do various Christians view Jesus
Christ?
A.
Trinitarian Views Of Jesus Christ:
While there
have been theological disputes over
the nature of Jesus, Trinitarian
Christians generally believe that
Jesus is God incarnate, God the Son,
and "true God and true man" (or both
fully divine and fully human).
Jesus, having become fully
human in all respects, suffered the
pains and temptations of a mortal
man, yet he did not sin. As fully
God, he defeated death and rose to
life again. According to the Bible,
God raised him from the dead.[3]
He ascended to heaven, to the "right
hand of God,"[4]
and he will return again[5]
to fulfill the rest of Messianic
prophecy such as the Resurrection of
the dead, the Last Judgment and
establishment of the physical
Kingdom of God.
Source: Wikipedia, Jesus in
Christianity,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Christianity
(as of Apr. 15, 2010, 03:48 GMT).
B. Non-trinitarian
Views Of Jesus Christ
Nontrinitarianism
(or
Antitrinitarianism)
includes
all
Christian
belief
systems
that
reject
as
unscriptural,
wholly
or
partly,
the
doctrine
of
the
Trinity—the
belief
that
God
in
the
Bible
is
three
distinct
persons
in
one
being,
and
that
these
three
persons
are
eternal
and
equal
in
nature,
authority,
and
knowledge.
Source:
Wikipedia,
Nontrinitarianism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarianism
(as
of
Apr.
15,
2010,
03:59
GMT).
1.
Binitarian view of Jesus Christ:
Binitarianism is a Christian
theology of two personae, two
individuals, or two aspects in
one Godhead (or God).
Classically, binitarianism is
understood as strict monotheism
— that is, that God is an
absolutely single being; and yet
with binitarianism there is a "twoness"
in God. The other common forms
of monotheism are "unitarianism",
a belief in a single God with
one aspect, and "trinitarianism",
a belief in a single God with
three aspects.
Source: Wikipedia,
Binitarianism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binitarianism
(as of Apr. 15, 2010, 04:10
GMT).
2. Unitarian
view of Jesus Christ:
Unitarianism is a
Nontrinitarian Christian
theology which teaches belief in
the single personality of God,
in contrast to the doctrine of
the Trinity (God as three
persons).[1]
According to its proponents,
Unitarianism reflects the
original God-concept of
Christianity.
Beliefs
Unitarians believe in the
teachings of Jesus Christ as
found in the New Testament and
other Early Christian writings.
Adhering to strict monotheism,
they maintain that Jesus was a
great man and a prophet of God,
perhaps even a supernatural
being, but not God himself. They
believe Jesus did not claim to
be God, nor did his teachings
hint at the existence of a
triune God. Unitarians believe
in the moral authority, but not
necessarily the divinity, of
Jesus. Their theology is thus
distinguishable from the
trinitarian theology of most
Christian denominations, which
hold the idea of a triune God as
a core belief.
Source: Wikipedia,
Unitarianism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism
(as of Apr. 15, 2010, 05:24
GMT).
Comparing Various
Beliefs of Jesus Christ, based on the above references:
A.
Trinitarians generally believe that Jesus Christ is.
. . . . .
-
Jesus is God the Son
-
Jesus is God incarnate
-
Jesus is a "true God and true man" (or
both fully divine and fully human).
B.
Nontrinitarianism
includes all Christian belief systems that reject as
unscriptural, wholly or partly, the doctrine of the
Trinity
1. Binitarians
generally believe that . . . . . . .
-
Jesus is one of
the "two
personae, two individuals, or two aspects in
one Godhead (or God)"
-
That God is an
absolutely single being; and yet there is a
"twoness" in God.
(composed of the Father and the Son)
2. Unitarians, adhering to
strict monotheism, generally believe that . . . .
-
Jesus was a
great man and a prophet of God, perhaps even
a supernatural being, but not God himself.
-
Jesus did not
claim to be God, nor did his teachings hint at the existence of a Triune
God. Unitarians
believe in the moral authority, but not
necessarily the divinity, of Jesus.
Thus, the basic difference
between the Trinitarian and Unitarian views
revolves around the belief in the divinity of Jesus.
-
Trinitarians believe that Jesus is "God the Son". He
is God incarnate, a true God and a true man, that is
fully divine and fully human.
-
Unitarians believe that Jesus was a great man and a
prophet of God, perhaps even a supernatural being, but not God Himself. Unitarians
believe in the moral authority, but not
necessarily the divinity of Jesus.
Note: The use
of the terms, trinitarian, binitarian, or unitarian in this
website are not intended to refer to any religious
organization but only to denote
religious orientation
in order to simplify the way of presenting the different
concepts of Jesus.
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