(part 1 of 2): The Meaning of “Son of God”
„One of the most striking differences between a cat
and a lie is
that a cat only has nine lives.“
—Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar
Son of God, Son of David or Son of Man? Jesus is referred to as the “son of David” fourteen times in the New Testament, starting in the very first verse (Matthew 1: 1). The Gospel of Luke documents 41 generations between Jesus and David, while Matthew lists 26. Jesus, a distant descendant, can only carry the title “Son David” metaphorically. But then how should we understand the title “Son of God”?
The “trilemma,” a common plan of Christian missionaries, stated that “Jesus was either a madman, a liar, or the son of God, as he claimed.” For the sake of the argument, let’s say unanimously that Jesus was neither a madman nor a liar. Let’s also agree that he was exactly what he claimed to be. But what was that exactly? Jesus called himself “Son of Man” – often, constantly, perhaps emphatically, but where did he call himself “Son of God”?
Let’s go back. What does “Son of God” mean in the first place? No legitimate Christian sect ever suggested that God took a woman and had a child, and most likely no one will think that God could have had an illegitimate child with a human mother. Furthermore, it goes far beyond the limits of religious tolerance to suggest that God has physically united with an element of his creation. It would be like plunging straight down the blasphemy cliffs, following Greek mythology.
With no reasonable explanation available from the doctrines of Christian doctrine, the assertion of another mystery is the only way to a conclusion. At this point the Muslim will ask the question from the Quran again:
„… How should He have a son where He has no companion? …“ (Quran 6: 101)
… while others cry out, „But God is powerful in all things!“ The Islamic view, however, is that God does not do inappropriate things, only divine things. From an Islamic perspective, God’s character fits His nature and His Majesty.
Back to the topic: What does “Son of God” mean? And if Jesus had exclusive rights to this expression, then why does the Bible report: „… because I (God) am Israel’s father and Ephraim (ie Israel) is my firstborn son“ (Jeremiah 31: 9) and: „.. .Israel is my firstborn son ”(Exodus 4:22)? In connection with Romans 8:14, where we read: „For what the Spirit of God does are God’s children.“ Many scholars conclude that “son of God” is meant metaphorically and, like Christ, is not meant exclusively. After all, The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion states that “son of God” is clearly metaphorical in Jewish usage. Quote: “Son of God, term that is sometimes found in Jewish literature, biblical and post-biblical, but never implies physical descent from the deity. ”[1] Hasting’s Bible Dictionary comments:
In Semitic usage, „sonship“ is a term that refers to moral rather than physical or metaphysical relationships. So the “sons of Belial” (born 19:22 etc.) are bad people and not the descendants of Belial; and in the New Testament, the “children of the bridal room” are the wedding guests. Likewise, a “son of God” is a man or a people who reflects the character of God. There is little evidence that the title was used in Jewish circles for the Messiah, and sonship that would mean more than a moral relationship would be contrary to Jewish monotheism. [2]
And in any case, the list of candidates for the „Son of God“ begins with Adam, as it says in Luke 3:38: „… Adam, he was the Son of God.“
Those who reject this by quoting Matthew 3:17: („And see a voice coming down from heaven saying, ‚This is my dear son I am pleased with.'“) Have overlooked the fact that many people in the Bible described, including Israel and Adam as “sons of God”. Both the Second Book of Samuel 7: 13-14 and the First Book of Chronicles 22:10 say. “The (Solomon) should build a house for my name. He should be my son and I want to be his father. And I want to affirm his royal throne over Israel forever. ”
Whole peoples are called sons or children of God. For example:
Genesis 1. 6: 2 “Then the sons of God saw how beautiful the daughters of men were…”
Genesis 6: 4 “At the time, and even later, when the sons of God went to the people’s daughters … they became giants on earth.”
Deuteronomy 14: 1 “You are children of the Lord your God.”
Job 1: 6 “But one day it came to pass when the sons of God came and came before the LORD …”
Job 2: 1 “It happened again one day when the sons of God came and came before the LORD …”
Job 38: 7 “When the morning stars praised and cheered me all sons of God?”
Philippians 2:15 „So that you may be blameless and louder, God’s children, undeniably in the midst of a corrupt and wrong sex …“
1. John 3: 1-2 “See what love the Father has shown us that we should be called God’s children… Dear friends, we are now God’s children…”
In Matthew 5: 9 Jesus said: “Blessed are the peaceful ; because they will be called God’s children. ” Later in Matthew 5:45, Jesus describes his followers to attain noble characteristics: „that you may be children of your Father in heaven.“ Not just his father’s, but her father’s …
Copyright © 2007 Laurence B. Brown; with his consent.
The above excerpt comes from Dr. Brown’s upcoming book MisGod’ed, which will soon be published along with its sequel God’ed. Both books can be found on Dr. Browns website can be viewed :. www.LevelTruth.com. Dr. Brown can be contacted at: BrownL38@yahoo.com
Footnotes:
[1] Werblowsky, RJ Zwi and Geoffrey Wigoder. P. 653.
[2] Hastings, James. Dictionary of The Bible. P. 143.
(part 2 of 2): “Son” or “Servant”?
The Christian clergy publicly confesses that Jesus never called himself the “Son of God”, but they claim that others did. There is also an answer to this.
If one examines the manuscripts from which the New Testament originated, one finds that the alleged “sonship” of Jesus is based on an incorrect translation of two Greek words – pais and huios, both of which were translated as “son”. However, this translation appears to be disingenuous. The Greek word pais is derived from the Hebrew word ebed, which primarily means servant or slave. Therefore, the translation of pais theou should rather mean “servant of God”, “child” or “son of God” is an extraordinary decoration. According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, „The Hebrew origin of pais in the expression pais theou, ie ebed, has an emphasis on a personal relationship and actually means“ slave. „[1] This is all the more interesting for it is perfectly in line with the prophecy in Isaiah 42: 1, based on Matthew 12:18: “Behold, this is my servant [ie from the Greek pais] whom I have chosen and my beloved whom my soul is pleased with . ” Whether you read the King James Version, the New King James Version, the New Revised Standard Version or the New International Version, the word „servant“ is everywhere. If we consider that the purpose of the revelation is to clarify the truth about God, one might think that this passage represents an unsightly mark on the face of the doctrine of the Son of God. After all, couldn’t there have been a better opportunity for God to declare Jesus His Son? Wouldn’t it have been better to say, „Look, this is my son I brought up …“? But Ernicht said that. In this matter, the doctrine lacks biblical support from reports of both Jesus and God, and there is good reason to wonder why. Unless it is because Jesus was no longer God’s servant, as this passage describes.
If one considers the religious use of the word ebed: “The term serves as an expression of humility, used by the righteous before God.” [2] Furthermore: “After 100 BC. pais theou means “servant of God” more often when it refers to Moses, the prophets or the three children (Bar. 1:20; 2:20; Dan. 9:35). ”[3] It is easy to get into the Quicksand of the doctrine: “Of eight cases in this sentence, one refers to Israel (Luke 1:54), two to David (Luke 1:69; Acts 4:25) and the other five to Jesus (Mt. 12 : 18; Acts 3:13, 26; 4:27, 30) …. In the few cases in which Jesus is called pais theou, it is obviously an early tradition. ”[4] So Jesus did not have the extraordinary right this expression, and where it was used, was „obviously“ from „early tradition“. In addition, if the translation is impartial, it should designate all individuals for whom the term is used. For whatever reason, that was not the case. While pais was translated as “servant” when referring to David (Acts 4:25 and Luke 1:69) and Israel (Luke 1:54), it was translated as “son” or “holy child” when it was was about Jesus (Acts 3:13; 3:26; 4:27; 4:30). Such preferred treatment is canonically consistent, but logically incorrect. it was translated as “son” or “holy child” when it was Jesus (Acts 3:13; 3:26; 4:27; 4:30). Such preferred treatment is canonically consistent, but logically incorrect. it was translated as “son” or “holy child” when it was Jesus (Acts 3:13; 3:26; 4:27; 4:30). Such preferred treatment is canonically consistent, but logically incorrect.
Finally, an interesting religious parallel was discovered: “Since the Greek phrase pais tou theou means“ servant of God ”, it has the same meaning as the Muslim name Abdallah – the servant of Allah.” [5]
This symmetry is all the more exciting than the saint The Quran reports that Jesus identified himself as just that-Abdallah (abd as an Arabic word for slave or servant, Abd-Allah [also spelled “Abdullah”] means slave or servant of Allah). When Mary returned to her family with the newborn Jesus, they accused her of being chaste. Speaking from the cradle, a miracle that gave his claims credibility, the baby Jesus defended his mother’s virtue by saying, „Inni Abdullah …“, which means „I am the servant of Allah …“ (Quran 19:30 ).
The translation of the Greek huios in the New Testament as “son” (in the literal meaning) is similarly wrong. On page 1210 of Kittel and Friedrich’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, it is said that the meaning of huios spans a wide range: it ranges from the literal (Jesus is the son of Mary) to the slightly metaphorical (believers as sons of the king [ Matt. 17: 25-26]), about the friendly metaphorical (God’s elect as sons of Abraham [Luke 19: 9]), about the family metaphorical (believers as sons of God [Matt. 7: 9 and Heb 12: 5]) , about the spiritually metaphorical (students as sons of the Pharisees [Matt. 12:27, Acts 23: 6]), about the biologically metaphorical (as in John 19:26, where Jesus describes his favorite disciple Maria as „her son“), to metaphorically blind as „sons of the kingdom“ (Matt. 8:12), „sons of peace“ (Luke 10: 6), „sons of light“ (Luke 16: 8), and all of the „sons of these World ”(Luke 16: 8) to the“ sons of thunder ”(Mark 3:17). It is as if this misunderstood word for “son” is waving a large block letter sign: METAPHER! Or, as Stanton eloquently puts it: „Most scholars agree that the Aramaic or Hebrew word behind“ son „is“ slave. “ How the spirit descended at Jesus ‚baptism was already announced in Isaiah 42: 1 by a voice from heaven:‘ See, this is my servant … my chosen one … I have given him my spirit.´ Although Mark 1:11 and 9: 7 find that Jesus was chosen by God to be a special task, the emphasis is more on his role as an anointed servant than as the Son of God. „[6]
Copyright © 2007 Laurence B. Brown; used by permission.
The above extract comes from Dr. Brown’s upcoming book MisGod’ed, which will soon be published along with its sequel God’ed. Both books can be found on Dr. Browns website can be viewed :. www.LevelTruth.com. Dr. Brown can be contacted at: BrownL38@yahoo.com
Footnotes:
[1] Kittel, Gerhard and Gerhard Friedrich. P. 763.
[2] Kittel, Gerhard and Gerhard Friedrich. P. 763.
[3] Kittel, Gerhard and Gerhard Friedrich. P. 765.
[4] Kittel, Gerhard and Gerhard Friedrich. P. 767.
[5] Carmichael, Joel. Pp. 255-6.
[6] Stanton, Graham NS 225.
Source: https://www.islamland.com/deu/articles/jesus-christus–sohn-gottes