Religious perspectives on Jesus
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Religious perspectives on Jesus is the specific significance some religions place on Jesus. The two largest world religions, Christianity and Islam, consider Jesus to have been an important holy figure. In Christianity, Jesus is generally thought by believers to have divine attributes as the son of God and the Messiah. In Islam, Jesus is considered one of God's most important prophets. Most other religions' views on him range from considering him a false prophet (mainstream Judaism) to an enlightened teacher (Buddhism). Others see him as an ordinary human being, (Freethought), (Atheism), (Agnosticism).
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[edit] Christianity
Most groups identifying themselves as Christians believe Jesus was God Incarnate (God who took on human nature and human flesh, the second person of the Holy Trinity), who came to earth to save humanity from sin and death through the shedding of his own blood in sacrifice, and who returned from the dead to rejoin his Father in Heaven. However, some groups identifying themselves as Christian, generally considered to be outside mainstream Christian thought, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians and Christian Scientists, believe Jesus was divinely inspired, but not God incarnate.
The vast majority of Christian denominations (generally including Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and most forms of Protestantism, but not Restorationism) derive their creeds from the agreement reached at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, known as the Nicene Creed, in the form of the Creed of Constantinople (381), though the dominant themes of the Nicene Creed were communicated and widely accepted among the people of the early Christian church. In addition to the belief in "one God, the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth..." and in "the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver, Who proceeds from the Father...", this Creed confesses the belief in:
- "one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into existence, Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures and ascended to heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge living and dead, of Whose kingdom there will be no end." (from J. Stevenson, Creeds, Councils and Controversies (London 1989); note that the above quotation follows Stevenson in italicizing those phrases that do not occur in the Creed of Nicaea).
Protestant Christians generally believe that faith in Jesus, not good works, is the only way to receive salvation and to enter into heaven, and that salvation is a gift given by the grace of God. Although most members of the various Christian denominations believe that faith in Jesus is necessary (based upon John 3:16), good works are also expected by most. However, it is made clear in most denominations that good works alone will never be good enough for one to enter into heaven.
The Lutheran position is the one stated in John 13:15, where Jesus says that his life was given as an example or role model for his followers. In contrast, Roman Catholics believe that even non-Christians can receive the grace needed for salvation if they live a just life. [1] [2]
As reflected in the many different Christian denominations, Christianity has undergone several schisms in its beliefs regarding Jesus. However, there are several beliefs which are common to most believers in the divinity of Jesus. The vast majority of Christians believe that Jesus is God, is the only begotten Son of God, and is the second member of the Divine Trinity. He is said to have been made incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary; that is to say, he took on a human body and became a man as well as God.
There are many differing views within Christian groups as to whether or not Jesus ever claimed divinity. The majority of Christian laypeople, theologians and clergy hold that the Bible shows Jesus both as divine, and claiming divinity. Others, however, believe that Jesus never claimed divinity, and stated plainly that he was not equal with God.
This dispute is also sometimes reflected in the rejection of the common Christian doctrine of the trinity. Unitarianism is Christian belief in only one God, not in the differing aspects of God represented by the trinity—Unitarian Universalism, while no longer strictly unitarian, nor even necessarily Christian, derives partly from this belief. Less common is Binitarianism, belief in the divinity of both the Father and the Son, but not in the Holy Spirit.
Some groups, such as the Christadelphians, Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Scientists, interpret the Bible as teaching that Jesus is the Son of God, but not necessarily God himself. These Christians believe that Jesus was divinely inspired, but not God incarnate. Others, such as Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), believe in a Trinity, but maintain that God the Father begat Jesus as God the Son, and that Jesus created the Earth under the direction of God the Father. Mormons also have additional, relatively recent sacred texts—the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price—that testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (see article Jesus in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Swedenborgians (members of the New Church) believe that Jesus is God incarnate, but not a separate person from the Father; the Father is in the Son like the soul in the body.
The Docetics, an early Christian sect, believed (as Muslims do today) that Jesus did not die on the cross, and that the crucifixion was an illusion done by God. Another early sect, the Marcionites, believed Paul and Jesus rejected the Law of Moses and revealed in Jesus Christ a Supreme God, greater than the creator god of the Old Testament. Another, the Ebionites, believed in Jesus as a great prophet who had commanded the end of animal sacrifices and the end of the eating of animal flesh. Other than that, they were observant Jews and did not believe in Jesus as God. They followed Jacob ("James" in the English New Testament), the brother of Jesus, and insisted that Paul's teachings were without authority and totally alien to what Jesus taught. Still another, the Arians, believed that the Father was the only true God, based on John 17:3. On the other hand, some semi-Arians believed that the Father and the Son are two beings, both called God. They do not believe that the Holy Spirit is God (as it is not, in their view, a distinct person, but rather an impersonal force emanating from God) —modern groups that hold this semi-Arian view sometimes refer to themselves as Binitarian.
Messianic Judaism also shares many Christian beliefs, including the belief in the trinity and the belief in Jesus as Messiah.
[edit] Jesus in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds various beliefs about Jesus, some of which are unique or represent a distinctive theological perspective.
Beliefs which are at least superficially similar to those of other churches, though they may be differently interpreted, include:
- Jesus is, symbolically, the embodiment of the unconditional love of God the Father and the Godhead for all mankind. All can feel the light of Christ as they choose to come unto Him.
- Jesus is the Begotten Son of God the Father, and was foreordained to be a perfect example, be sinless, and suffer the atonement. (Compare Christian doctrines of Incarnation.)
- By dying on the Cross and returning to life, Jesus granted the gift of the Resurrection to the entire human race.
- Jesus also grants Exaltation to those who are faithful in obeying his Commandments. (See Discourses of Brigham Young, Chapter 30.) (Compare Christian doctrines of salvation and theosis.)
- In the interval between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, Jesus organized a Mission in the Spirit World, for righteous spirits to teach the Gospel to those spirits who had not yet accepted it. Thus he bridged the chasm that previously existed between the two groups. See the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 138. (Compare various traditions of the Harrowing of Hell.)
- Jesus is the Head of the Church and continues to guide it today.
Beliefs which are more distinctive of Latter Day Saints teaching include:
- Jesus loves all mankind unconditionally, whether or not they are members of a particular church or no church. "All are alike unto God." (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 26:33)
- Jesus desires all men to come unto him. One reason is that He may "show unto them their weakness" ... "that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Book of Mormon, Ether 12:27)
- Jesus (not the Father) is the same as Jehovah or Yahweh of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. He created the Universe under the direction of God the Father. (Compare Christian teaching on the Logos)
- By enduring the atonement in Gethsemane and on the cross, Jesus satisfied the eternal law of justice through the incomprehensible agony of his suffering, and brought about the plan of mercy and divine grace for those who choose to repent. Those who obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel are saved in the Celestial Kingdom, while those who are less valiant receive lesser glories in their salvation. (See the Articles of Faith, and Doctrine and Covenants, Section 76, verses 50-70. (Gethsemane, though a focus of spiritual devotion, does not have such doctrinal importance in mainstream Christian thought.)
- Jesus Christ will save, through the Atonement, all men who keep his commandments, and have faith in him. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believes in being saved through faith AND works, emphasizing repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, forgiveness, love and service to others.
- The Church of Jesus Christ believes in three degrees of Heaven, and that the highest can eventually be attained by all those who accept the ordinances and covenants of the gospel with all their heart, emphasizing restored priesthood authority and the sealing of families in sacred temples. (See Doctrine and Covenants 137)
- After the Resurrection, Jesus visited the inhabitants of ancient America, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, and visited other lost tribes of Israel. See the Gospel of John 10:16.
- Jesus began the Restoration of ancient truths that had previously been lost with his appearance to Joseph Smith in 1820, known as the First Vision. See the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[edit] Mission of Jesus Christ
The above section divides LDS teachings on Jesus between those that resemble tenets of other theologies and the more original doctrines. The church claims the following three points being the mission of Jesus Christ's life, atonement, death and resurrection:
- Resurrection: A free Gift to all Humanity, a consequence of Jesus' own Resurrection.
- Salvation: Given to all those who believe in Jesus and repent of their sins, though some will suffer for sin in the Spirit World until they finally do accept Christ. (D & C 19:17) (A blessing of the atonement).
- Exaltation: Glory given to those who endure to the end, seek a fullness of truth, are sealed in a temple, and labor in the Kingdom of God. A consequence of joint endeavors of Jesus and his followers.
[edit] Islam
In Islam, Jesus is known as Isa and is one of God's highest-ranked and most-beloved prophets, specifically sent to guide the Children of Israel.
Unlike Christian writings, the Qur'an does not describe Jesus as the son of God, but as one of five major human prophets (out of many prophets) sent by God throughout history to guide mankind. It also states that Jesus' message to mankind was originally very similar to that of the other Islamic prophets, from Adam to Muhammad, but that it was subsequently distorted by early Christians. Jesus is said to have lived a life of piety and generosity, and abstained from eating flesh of swine and drinking alcohol.
Muslims also believe that Jesus received a Gospel from God, called the Injeel and corresponding to the Christian New Testament. However, Muslims hold that the New Testament has been changed over time (as they also believe of the Old Testament) and does not accurately represent God's original message to mankind. Some Muslims accept the Gospel of Barnabas as the most accurate testament of Jesus, although the authenticity and date of this text is disputed in Islamic, Christian and secular academic circles.
However, the Qur'an and New Testament overlap in other aspects of Jesus' life; both Muslims and orthodox Christians believe that Jesus was miraculously born without a human biological father by the will of God, and that his mother, Mary (Maryam in Arabic), is among the most saintly, pious, chaste and virtuous women ever. The Qur'an also specifies that Jesus was able to perform miracles—though only by the will of God—including being able to raise the dead, restore sight to the blind and cure lepers. One miracle attributed to Jesus in the Qur'an, but not in the New Testament, is his being able to speak at only a few days old, to defend his mother from accusations of adultery. The Qur'an also says that Jesus was a 'word' from God, since he was predicted to come in the Old Testament.
Most Muslims believe that he was neither killed nor crucified, but that God made it appear so to his enemies. The Qur'an narrates that God made it appear so that Jesus was crucified to his enemies but he was not, and lived. According to Islam, Jesus ascended bodily to heaven and is alive. Some Muslim scholars (notably Ahmad Deedat) maintain that Jesus was indeed put up on the cross, but did not die on it—rather, he revived and then ascended bodily to heaven. Others say that it was actually Judas Iscariot who was mistakenly crucified by the Romans. Regardless, Muslims believe that Jesus is alive in heaven and will return to the world in the flesh with Imam Mahdi to defeat the Dajjal ("Deceiver"; the Antichrist in Islamic belief) once the world has become filled with sin, deception and injustice, and then live out the rest of his natural life.
[edit] Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement, wrote in his book Jesus in India (April 1896) that Jesus survived the crucifixion and later travelled to India, where he lived as a prophet (and died) under the name of Yuz Asaf. Ahmad argued that when Jesus was taken down from the cross, he had lapsed into a state similar to Jonah's state of "swoon" in the belly of a fish Matthew 12:40 (see swoon hypothesis). A medicine known as Marham-e-Issa Ointment of Jesus was applied to his wounds and he revived. Drawing from Biblical, Quranic and Buddhist scriptures, Ahmad wrote that Jesus appeared to Mary, his apostles and others with the same (not resurrected) human body, evidenced by his human wounds and his subsequent clandestine rendezvous over about forty days in the Jerusalem surroundings. The book uses historical documents to suggest Jesus' travel to Nasibain (Nisbis), Afghanistan and then to Kashmir in search of some of the lost tribes of Israel [1], who had supposedly settled in the east some 700 years prior.
Most Ahmadi Muslims also believe that references to the Second Coming of Jesus in religious scriptures are allegorical and refer to the arrival of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The Ahmadi view of Jesus is one of the main reasons why the movement is considered heretical by mainstream Muslims.
[edit] Judaism
Adherents of Judaism do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and reject all claimed Messiahs, holding that the world is not redeemed yet and thus the Messianic Era has not begun. Mainstream Jewish movements reject such beliefs on the grounds that:
- The many Biblical prophecies regarding the Messiah, such as his bringing the Jews back to the Land of Israel, causing peace on earth, bringing back the dead, having all people know God, and ruling from his throne in Jerusalem, have not been fulfilled.
- According to the New Testament, Jesus' father is God, but according to the Hebrew Bible, the Messiah must descend patrilineally from King David.
- According to the New Testament, Jesus was killed. In Laws of Kings 11:4, Maimonides rules concerning one who is killed that "it is certain that he is not the one whom the Torah has promised."
Jewish religious leaders and authorities view teachings attributed to Jesus as a variant of the beliefs held by Essenes and Pharisees at his time. They note that the reported life of Jesus is largely consistent with that of a devout Jew and nationalist insurgent at the time of the Second Temple. While early followers of Jesus may have belonged to a Jewish sect, it was the teachings of Paul that severed the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Several practices in Christianity clearly derive from Judaism, but have taken on elements that are completely alien to Judaism.
Some attempts have been made to reconcile the apparent conflict between Jewish and Christian theological perspectives on the Messiah. Notable among these is the work of Franz Rosenzweig, who postulated that there is a dual covenant in which Christians have chosen a Messiah to convert out of the pagan world.
Some scholars believe that Jesus is mentioned as Yeshu in the Jewish Talmud, although others dispute this.
[edit] Mandaeans
Mandaeans see Jesus as a false prophet as compared to John the Baptist. Jesus was seen as the savior and bringer of gnosis by various Gnostic sects, such as the extinct Manichaeism. In modern times many New Agers have reinterpreted Jesus as a misunderstood guru preaching enlightenment.
[edit] Other Religions
[edit] Bahá'í
The Bahá'í Faith consider Jesus to be a manifestation of God. God is one and has manifested himself to humanity through several historic Messengers. Bahá'ís refer to this concept as Progressive Revelation, which means that God's will is revealed to mankind progressively as mankind matures and is better able to comprehend the purpose of God in creating humanity. In this view, God's word is revealed through a series of messengers: Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Bahá'u'lláh (the founder of the Bahá'í Faith) among them. In the Book of Certitude, Bahá'u'lláh claims that these messengers have a two natures: divine and human. Examining their divine nature, they are more or less the same being. However, when examining their human nature, they are individual, with distinct personality. For example, when Jesus says "I and my Father are one,"[3], Bahá'ís take this quite literally, but specifically with respect to his nature as a Manifestation. When Jesus conversely stated "...And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me,"[4] Bahá'ís see this as a simple reference to the individuality of Jesus. This divine nature, according to Bahá'u'lláh, means that any Manifestation of God can be said to be the return of a previous Manifestation, though Bahá'ís also believe that some Manifestations with specific missions return with a "new name"[5] and a different, or expanded purpose. Bahá'ís believe that Bahá'u'lláh is, in both respects, the return of Jesus.
[edit] Buddhism
Traditionally, Buddhists as a group take no particular view on Jesus. However, recent historical findings and greater availability of translated Buddhist texts indicate possible influence on many of the major teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. Scholars have always noted the great many similarities between the life and teachings of Gautam Buddha and Jesus. [dubious — see talk page] These similarities might be attributed to Buddhist missionaries sent as early as Emperor Ashoka around 250 B.C.E. in many of the Greek Seleucid kingdoms that existed then and then later became the same regions that Christianity began. [citation needed] To the extent that Buddhists and Christians were exposed to each other, individual Buddhists may have had positive or negative impressions of Jesus depending on their individual inclinations. In the modern era, as Buddhist-Christian contact increased dramatically (the Dalai Lama and the Pope have met frequently in the past decade), several Buddhist writers have tried to come to grips with the concept of Jesus. Some have gone so far as to describe him as a bodhisattva, a being committed to the redemption of all life. [citation needed] Specifically, comparisons are sometimes drawn between Jesus and Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Others see parallels between Avalokiteśvara (who is sometimes portrayed as male and sometimes as female) and the Virgin Mary.
[edit] Hinduism
Hinduism is divided on the issue of Jesus. Some Hindus hold that he was just a man, if he existed at all. Others say he was a great guru and/or yogi. Some Hindus go as far as to equate Jesus with an avatar (incarnation of God on earth), along with Rama, Buddha and Krishna.[citation needed]
Some authors believe that Jesus spent the so-called "lost years" between his birth and his baptism (which are not described in the canonical Gospels) in India living with the gurus and saints and learning from them. They claim that this was not mentioned in the Bible because Christians did not want to give the teachings of Hinduism credit. The Ahmadiyya Mirza Ghulam Ahmad believed that Jesus died in Kashmir.[6]
The Hare Krishna sect of Hinduism believes Krishna is the Father that Jesus spoke of—and they accept many of his teachings. [citation needed]Mahatma Gandhi considered Jesus a teacher and inspiration for nonviolent resistance, interpreting his teaching of "turning the other cheek" as a call to stand up courageously to oppression without resorting to violence. Along these lines, some have speculated that Jesus was the leader of Jewish nonviolent resistance to Pilate's attempt to place Roman standards (considered idolatrous by the Jewish people) in Jerusalem, and that this led to his arrest and crucifixion.
Many in the Surat Shabda Yoga tradition of Sant Mat regard Jesus as a Sat Guru. [citation needed]
Nicolas Notovich a Russian and Swami Abhedananda, an Indian, claim that they've seen some documents in the Himi monastery of Tibet that prove Jesus' arrival in India, and that Buddhists revered him as the white saint and Maitreya. [citation needed]
[edit] Urantia
The Urantia Book describes Jesus, his life and teachings as constituting the 7th Bestowal Mission of Michael of Nebadon (Nebadon being the name of the sub-universe in which Earth subsists). Michael is in turn described as a Paradise Creator Son of God, an order of being which brings order and life to sub-universes, who, after seven bestowals as various orders of beings, becomes his universe's acknowledged chief executive. According to the Urantia Book, Jesus began life on earth through birth as any other human, but attained to mortal spiritual perfection by way of balanced growth and dedication to doing God's will. The book describes him teaching and living a religion of personal religious experience that includes for its followers salvation into an afterlife, followed by an ages-long growth-adventure culminating in Paradise attainment. The Urantia Book characterizes Jesus' gospel as the Parenthood ("Fatherhood") of God coupled with the siblinghood ("sonship") of all mankind.
[edit] Hermeticism
Hermeticists do not hold any specific views on Jesus, however many would accept his miracles and teachings as being the product of an exceptionally well-trained and wise master. The claims of being the "Son of God" would be seen as true, but not holding nearly the same value as Christians put on it.
Hermeticists have traditionally seen the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as symbolic. Rather than physical death and rebirth, they view it as spiritual enlightenment and rebirth.
Hermeticists believe in The All or the One, perhaps simplified as Amen-Ra, the personification of the Universe. This God, is the collective whole of all that exists, so all men would be sons of God, and all women daughters of God. Jesus however, if the accounts of his life are to be believed, was exceptionally enlightened and gifted, which would make him more in tune with God than the common man, in the view of a Hermeticist. Some may believe him to have become an ascended master.
[edit] Notes
- ^ catechism entry on grace and justification catechism. Nostra Aetate, declaration of Vatican II
- ^ Joint declaration ELCA Vatican
- ^ [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=citation&book=John&chapno=10&startverse=30 KJV Bible - John 10:30
- ^ KJV Bible - John 5:36-37
- ^ KJV Bible - Revelations 3:12
- ^ Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: Jesus in India
