Judgment Day: Jesus' divinity falls prey to debate

By Guillermo Carreon

Throughout his life, Jesus did and said many things indicating that he is divine. He forgave sins on his own power, made 12 apostles paralleling the 12 tribes of Israel (implying that he was as God in the Old Testament), began calling God "Abba" (an extremely personal term for father) and used expressions such as "I am" and "Son of Man" (alluding to Daniel 7) which most scholars acknowledge as claiming divinity. He even used a rabbinic phrase of affirmation when Pontius Pilate asked him about his being the messiah ("you say so"). Given his claims, one is left to believe that Jesus was actually Lord of all, a liar or lunatic.

If He was a liar, an incredible number of people were in on the lie, since there were many witnesses mentioned in many of His stories. If He was a lunatic, one would also Him to have unnatural emotional reactions or to seem out of contact with reality, but one generally finds His emotions and actions appropriate to situations he faced.

One troublesome objection is that Christ's claims of divinity were inventions of later writers. However, one finds creeds about Christ's resurrection and divinity in St. Paul's letters that date back to a few years after Christ's death. This is significant since legends usually develop over several generations, as opposed to a few short years. After all, witnesses (including hostile ones) to New Testament events were still living. Moreover, in contrast to later apocryphal Gospels, which have flowery and grandiose details of events, the New Testament stories are plain and unimpressive (in other words, not good legendary material).

Finally, appeals to the Jesus Seminar (representative of less than 2 percent of theologians) are circular since they begin with the assumptions that Jesus was not divine and miracles do not happen.

Next, there are some reasons to think that the resurrection may well have happened, which then affirms Christ's divinity. Jesus' tomb was secured both by guards and a disc-shaped boulder rolled down and lodged into a grove, which would require serious labor to open. Thus, it would have been impossible to remove the body undetected. Opponents of Jesus had reasons to prevent it from being stolen and would have produced Jesus' body if they had it. More importantly, it is unlikely that the disciples simply lied about His body since they, who would know about Jesus' status, were willing to die on behalf of His divinity and had nothing to gain from deception.

Furthermore, the New Testament states several instances of multiple witnesses (once as many as 500 people) who claimed that Jesus did, in fact, rise from the grave. What is significant is that these are claims which could have been verified, especially considering that there were still many living witnesses who could have exposed the claims as false. But this does not happen.

Finally, the credibility of the primary details of the resurrection stories is evident in claims that are quite unlikely to be invented. For example, that women were recorded as witnesses is surprising since in that time they were generally not considered worthy of mention, especially as witnesses. Moreover, the disciples were not portrayed in a complimentary manner, since they were depicted as disillusioned by Christ's death and evidently did not quite understand or expect that Christ would rise.

Overall, there was little motive, time or ability to be able to deceive people about Christ's divinity, and yet there are simultaneously indicators that Christ's claims to divinity were true.Guillermo Carreon, a junior religious studies and philosophy double major, is a member of Santa Clarans for Social Justice and volunteers for SCCAP. His views do not necessarily represent those of the organizations to which he belongs.

By Logan Gee

Guest Writer

The Anointed One. The Messiah. The Bearer of Good News. Who was this Jesus guy? It's a question that goes far deeper than most. The faith of almost two billion people rests on the idea that he was God incarnate, sent to Earth by the Lord (sent by himself, kind of like in Terminator 2) to save the world (also like T2). The history surrounding this rabble rouser is so cloudy that asking the question of his identity has spurred a fiercely emotional debate; a debate that can leave no party with a solid grasp on scientific truth, only relentless faith or nagging doubt.

Despite all of this, the subject still has undergone long investigation, and many interesting truths have emerged. For instance, historians have concluded that Jesus was probably born in Nazareth and not in Bethlehem as "The Good Book" asserts in chapter two of the Gospel According to Matthew. Only an estimated 18 percent of the words credited to Jesus in the gospels can accurately be assumed to be his own. The possibility of the virgin birth has pretty much been thrown out, and reputable historical scholars see the resurrection as no more than a fairy tale with a cult following.

But have no fear, God-fearing Christian soldiers of Santa Clara, you don't have to forget all the cornerstones of your faith. John the Baptist is a recognized historical figure thought to have actually baptized the young "superstar" of Nazareth, and Jesus did actually suffer his unearned punishment in Jerusalem.

Robert W. Funk, former president of the Society of Biblical Literature, founded a group known as the Jesus Seminar. The goal of the organization is to examine and analyze the origins of the Bible and release its findings to universities, churches, and seminaries everywhere. Other members include John Dominic Crossan, a former Roman Catholic priest who now teaches at DePaul University in Chicago, and Marcus Borg, a professor at Oregon State University in Corvallis. According to the general consensus of the group, Jesus was "an itinerant social critic and sage in the Jewish wisdom tradition who concerned himself with ethical and philosophical matters. He was ... a rebel who led an egalitarian revolution against a repressive established social order but who harbored no divine pretensions."

What about Jesus' claims about himself? Not all of the Biblical accounts agree as to who or what Jesus said he was. In the gospel according to Matthew, when asked by the high priests of Rome if he is the Messiah, Jesus defiantly answers "You say so," refusing to directly respond. In Mark's gospel, however, he states outright to his accusers that he is the Christ and will be seated at the right hand of God in heaven. Luke offers another version of the story in which Jesus again seems to deny his own divinity. Upon being called "good teacher," he responds with "why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." (Luke 18:19) The book of John, the Gospel notorious for being very different from the others, is the only one where Jesus asserts that he is "The Way, the Truth, and the Light," and that no one can go to God but through him.

The contradictions that occur throughout the Bible are abundant, and make it extremely difficult to establish much about the true life of Jesus. All we know is that he is arguably the most influential person that ever existed. But is it truly God's providence that aided that influence, or is his following just a social phenomenon powered by people's dire psychological need for order in a chaotic universe?

We must each answer that question for ourselves. But as long as you're here at Santa Clara, even if you don't hail him as the Messiah, you can still thank Jesus for his indirect hand in the Jesuit education that you're receiving.Logan Gee, a junior combined sciences major, coordinates a tutoring program at Sacred Heart Nativity School in San Jose and is a member of the men's water polo team. His views do not necessarily represent those of the organizations to which he belongs.