| Answer: Your friend refers to a few
verses from the Gospel of John as evidences that Jesus (sws) is in fact God.
In this reply I do not want to look at
every verse that was referred to in your post. I only want to make a general
comment about the Gospels that will hopefully clarify my position about this
kind of quoting from Bible:
There are four Gospels in the New
Testament. The first three (Mark, Matthew, Luke) are called Synoptics as they
are very much consistent with each other (in describing Jesus (sws) and his
teachings). These are also written earlier than the fourth Gospel. In these
three Gospels, Jesus (sws) is described as not-God (e.g. Mark 10:18; Matthew
19:17 and Luke 18:19). The Gospel of John was put together after these three
Gospels and it is quite different from them as it gives a picture of Jesus (sws)
that can be interpreted as some one who was above human being.
We read in Encyclopedia Britannica
Online:
John, however, is so different that
it cannot be reconciled with the Synoptics except in very general ways ... The
greatest differences, though, appear in the methods and content of Jesus’
teaching. In the Synoptic Gospels, he speaks about the kingdom of God in short
aphorisms and parables, making use of similes and figures of speech, many drawn
from agricultural and village life. He seldom refers to himself, and, when asked
for a “sign” to prove his authority, he refuses (Mark 8:11–12). In John, on the
other hand, Jesus employs long metaphorical discourses, in which he himself is
the main subject. ... Scholars have unanimously chosen the Synoptic Gospels’
version of Jesus’ teaching.
Yet even in the Gospel of John we read
verses like the following that clearly indcate that Jesus (sws) was not God:
You heard me say, ‘I am going away
and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going
to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. (John 14:28)
Jesus (sws) being God is not a trivial
claim. Appreciating this claim or denying it will significantly change one’s
perspective and attitude towards religion and God. This is not a matter that can
be taken lightly.
Accordingly I can only say that I found
the approaches like the approach of your friend towards understanding the Bible
very confusing and inconsistent. I cannot understand that on what basis the many
verses in the Bible that clearly refer to Jesus (sws) as not-God are ignored,
especially when many of these verses are in the first three Gospels that have
been written earlier than the rest of the Bible. I cannot understand why only a
few verses are referred to in order to prove Jesus (sws) being God, why most of
these verses are not quite explicit and clear about this and why they are in the
less important parts of the Bible (i.e. not in Gospels)? How these few verses
can be relied upon when there is no certainty about the authors of the
particular books that contain these verses? How come most of the New Testament
is written by a person who never actually met Jesus (sws) and his vision of
Jesus (sws) was reported (obviously) only by him? How come this same person
(Paul) can be so much relied on when we read in the Bible that he had some
serious disagreements and in fact arguments with some of the apostles?
I can only begin to look at the quoted
verses if my concerns and questions about the approach of your friend towards
the Bible (as explained above) can be satisfactorily addressed. Having said
that, I can assure you that even among Christians not all groups consider these
verses to be indications of Jesus (sws) being God. For example look at this:
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20090401a/article_01.htm
Your friend also referred to verses from
the books of Titus and Hebrews. Before I commenting on these verses I would like
to know whether your friend or any other Christian knows (with reliable
evidences) who the author of these books are.
I would like to finish this reply by
quoting a verse from Bible:
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. (Acts 3:13)
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