Jesus

[Resurrexi]

[Apotheoun]

Jesus is both true God and true man.

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='Apotheoun' date='31 October 2009 - 03:31 PM' timestamp='1257021095' post='1994499']
Jesus is both true God and true man.
[/quote]

[Mark of the Cross]

Does the sun rise in the east? Do ducks swim? I don't think we need any reassurance do we?

The God who created the universe and holds it in existence by his will alone, becomes a man too weak to bear a piece of timbers weight. "How could I have been your model if I had done it any other way? If you will be my other self, you too must accept all your human frailties without complaint.

Peace be with you!

[dairygirl4u2c]

it's hard for me to accept paradoxes, that's why i hesitate on this issue. i hesitate more to say Jesus is not God than to say Jesus is God. ie, if Jesus is true God and true man, or if the father is God and the father is not the son, it's hard to say Jesus is God. we've had long discussions about this before, but it all comes down to the idea tht you have to accept the paradox.
many in the orthodox church say there's no paradox, arguing things like 'it's like being french german' etc... though if that's the case, you're nhot truly german or truly french etc. it almost has to be a paradox. i think there's other ways the orthdox explain it, but im not sure how.

i have no hesitation saying Jesus was one with God in more generic terms. or that Jesus never sinned, or that the spirit was within Jesus completely, or that they occupied the same being at teh same time. and stuff to that effect. to say Jesus is God though, it's hard for me to do. i say it, but there's always a bit of a hesitancy. if that means im a bad christian, so be it, that's just the way it is, God help me.

[MissyP89]

If the Holy Spirit can change hearts, can work miracles, can make love alive...

Then surely He could impregnate a teenage girl. And that child would be no ordinary Son.

Who could He be if not divine?

[dairygirl4u2c]

i would say jesus is divine, definitely. an that mary was impregnated by the spirit. does that mean he's 'french german' equivalent, hybrid? i dunno. it's posisble there's a paradox sure. if he can do all that, he can make a paradox too, sure.

[Nunsense]

[quote name='dairygirl4u2c' date='01 November 2009 - 10:10 AM' timestamp='1257030630' post='1994607']
it's hard for me to accept paradoxes, that's why i hesitate on this issue. i hesitate more to say Jesus is not God than to say Jesus is God. ie, if Jesus is true God and true man, or if the father is God and the father is not the son, it's hard to say Jesus is God. we've had long discussions about this before, but it all comes down to the idea tht you have to accept the paradox.
[/quote]


Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? (John 14:9)

[elizabeth09]

I belive that Jesus is God. Because there is Three Persons in one soul.

[Hilde]

Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father

so, yeah, basically.

[MIKolbe]

Jesus is a friend of mine.

[Vincent Vega]

A very interesting poll.

I, for one, would have been unable to predict that more than 90% of members of a Catholic forum believe that Jesus is God.

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='dairygirl4u2c' date='31 October 2009 - 06:10 PM' timestamp='1257030630' post='1994607']
it's hard for me to accept paradoxes, that's why i hesitate on this issue. i hesitate more to say Jesus is not God than to say Jesus is God. ie, if Jesus is true God and true man, or if the father is God and the father is not the son, it's hard to say Jesus is God. we've had long discussions about this before, but it all comes down to the idea tht you have to accept the paradox.
many in the orthodox church say there's no paradox, arguing things like 'it's like being french german' etc... though if that's the case, you're nhot truly german or truly french etc. it almost has to be a paradox. i think there's other ways the orthdox explain it, but im not sure how.

i have no hesitation saying Jesus was one with God in more generic terms. or that Jesus never sinned, or that the spirit was within Jesus completely, or that they occupied the same being at teh same time. and stuff to that effect. to say Jesus is God though, it's hard for me to do. i say it, but there's always a bit of a hesitancy. if that means im a bad christian, so be it, that's just the way it is, God help me.
[/quote]

You may find (as I have) that, over time, it gets easier to accept paradoxes, because there are so many of them. I've found that two opposite things can both be true, or that I can have two (or three!) conflicting feelings at the same time about a subject.

This may be not be true for everyone, so I am only speaking for myself.

To me, in some ways Jesus can be seen as a paradox, and in other ways, he is the ultimate single answer. I have no idea if this is a theologically "politically correct" view, but I'm not sure I care that much what others think, except that I find it interesting to learn about others' personal experiences of God and what he has taught them. I tend to think that God is kind enough to meet us where we are, and helps us deal with the paradoxes, so, that even within in the unifying teachings of the Catholic Church, for example, there are as many different experiences of God as there are people.

Generations of people in the past have been confused, and generations to come will also be confused. Not everyone, but some. Personally, I suspect more people are confused than admit it to themselves and others.

But, thankfully, God, through Christ and the Holy Spirit, takes pity on we humans sometimes, and provides us insights to help us in our imperfect humanity. And, once in awhile, he provides us with great people who are both truly intelligent and wise, to give us role models and to help us understand. Many of them are Saints, but some are "ordinary" people, who really aren't ordinary, but are not widely known and recognized. Plus, to be an official "Saint," you have to be dead, and many of these saints are still very much alive.

I realize this is a paradoxical answer, but it's the best I can do.

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' date='13 July 2010 - 03:12 PM' timestamp='1279048369' post='2142133']
A very interesting poll.

I, for one, would have been unable to predict that more than 90% of members of a Catholic forum believe that Jesus is God.
[/quote]
Yes, but 4 have given a no (at the time of this posting)

[Sarah147]

I'd give my life for this Truth. Jesus is God.

[sixpence]

[Ziggamafu]

The Incarnation is of course the central truth of Christianity. I wonder at how easily and comfortably we state our faith in the Incarnation, however. It is such a radical and incomparable doctrine. How many of us would have had the faith we have now had we been Jewish contemporaries of Christ? How many of us would have looked on a "just" another hairy, sweaty, street-preacher and believed? This thread is a great opportunity to reflect on the audacity of Christian faith.

If anything is proof that faith is a supernatural gift, it is the record of believers in the Gospel stories. I see David Blaine and Lance Burton do things that look impossible, with inspirational messages attached to them; I do not think the clever magicians truly have supernatural powers. I hear about people making unbelievable claims and gaining followers; their gentleness and apparent sanity do not make me feel compelled to join the cult. And if I heard that somebody was raised from the dead, even if forecast ahead of time, I would believe the alleged appearances to be deception.

No, I believe that faith in the Son of God is a [i]gift[/i]. Not a product of rationalization or something to be blithely accepted. Faith is itself a [i]miracle[/i]. Not a "duh" moment. The Gospel can only be offered; it can neither be forced, nor proven.

[Apotheoun]

Remember that at the Transfiguration there was no alteration in Christ, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The change occurred in the Apostles, whose eyes were opened to see in the power of the Spirit what was always visible to anyone who was properly attuned by grace.

[Ziggamafu]

[quote name='Apotheoun' date='26 July 2010 - 02:31 PM' timestamp='1280169091' post='2148295']
Remember that at the Transfiguration there was no alteration in Christ, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The change occurred in the Apostles, whose eyes were opened to see in the power of the Spirit what was always visible to anyone who was properly attuned by grace.
[/quote]

His human nature was not, I think, different than any other human. The change was the perception of the divine nature by means of supernatural revelation. Most people do not experience a supernatural revelation that intersects with the natural world, as the Apostles did. Most people's gift of faith is a revelation that does not touch their physical experience. So in looking at Christ with their physical senses, they would "see" just another hairy, dirty, sweaty, stinky guy. That's why faith in the Incarnation is so radical.

[kafka]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' date='27 July 2010 - 11:52 AM' timestamp='1280245925' post='2148687']
His human nature was not, I think, different than any other human. The change was the perception of the divine nature by means of supernatural revelation. Most people do not experience a supernatural revelation that intersects with the natural world, as the Apostles did. Most people's gift of faith is a revelation that does not touch their physical experience. So in looking at Christ with their physical senses, they would "see" just another hairy, dirty, sweaty, stinky guy. That's why faith in the Incarnation is so radical.
[/quote]
Isaiah
{53:1} Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
{53:2} And he will rise up like a tender plant in his sight, and like a root from the thirsty ground. There is no beautiful or stately appearance in him. For we looked upon him, and there was no aspect, such that we would desire him.

so good point. On the otherhand, he was not a rag-tag slovenly Person. When he taught he was brilliant, genius. The Jewish people would often say, no one has ever taught or spoken like him. He spoke with authority. He did things majestically and with reverence before the face of his Father. A sincere human person would be able to recognize the goodness and beauty of his Person in his face, actions, words, etc.

Edited July 27, 2010 by kafka