JESUS: Myths & Message

This article is continued from Submission.org  It was written by Lisa Spray. The first post was  " Was Jesus God?"      I have always believed that Jesus was not/ is not God. Even in the Highly inaccurate KJV, this idea does not make any sense.   Study it for yourself using the more accurate and currant materials available today.                          Michael                                         ------------------------------------- COL. 1-PAUL'S TEACHING Much of what we recognize today as the basic teachings of Christianity came to us through Paul. Remember that though Paul was the major missionary to the gentiles in the years immediately following the crucifixion, he never met Jesus. All of his understanding of Jesus and what he taught came secondhand and through the visions which he had. Most of Paul's own teachings come to us through letters which he wrote to various Christian communities. His Epistle to the Colossians is an example. It was partly from this letter that Michael Goulder originally derived the idea of Jesus' divinity: He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creatures. In him everything in heaven and on earth was created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominations, principalities or powers; all were created through him, and for him. He is before all else that is. In him everything continues in being. [Col.1:15-17] This obviously is Paul's teaching, not that of the man who said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone" (Mark 10:18). In this passage, Paul was using an old Biblical formula to describe Jesus. Wisdom personified was similarly described in Solomon's Proverbs: "The Lord begot me, the firstborn of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago; From of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth." [Proverbs 8:22-23] "Happy the man who obeys me, and happy those who keep my ways, happy the man watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts; for he who finds me finds life, and wins favor from the Lord; but he who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death." [Proverbs 8:33-36] When we look carefully at Colossians 1:15-17 and Proverbs 8:22-23 and 8:33-36, we realize that we cannot draw the conclusion that Jesus and Wisdom personified are both God. Rather, both instruct us in the means of reaching God, and thus are God's agents, not God. To paraphrase the authors of THE MYTH OF GOD INCARNATE, these descriptions are a mythological or poetic way of expressing the significance of Jesus and Wisdom for us. The opening statements of Colossians make a clear distinction between God and Jesus: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the holy ones at Colossae, faithful brothers in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace. [Col. 1:1-2] PHILIPPIANS 2 Another biblical statement mentioned by Golder and used by many to convey divinity upon Jesus is in Philippians 2. This is one of the epistles of uncertain origin. Many scholars do not accept it as being written by Paul at all. A comparison of the King James version and the broader based NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, reveals a dramatic difference in the meanings given this statement. Here is the King James version: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. [Phil. 2:5-7] Upon reading these straightforward verses, who can blame a believer in the scripture for believing that God was incarnated into a human being? Here we see that Jesus was "in the form of God," that he "thought it not robbery to be equal with God," and that "he took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." No wonder this rendering is frequently quoted with confidence by those who believe in the divinity of Jesus. However, when we study the original material, a totally different picture emerges. Let us look at the same verses, translated directly from the oldest available texts by the translators of the NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, rather than revised from earlier translations, as is the case in the King James version: Your attitude must be that of Christ: Though he was in the form of God, he did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, he emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate. [Phil. 2:5-7] Contrary to the King James' assertion that Jesus' equality with God was acceptable to Jesus, the NEW AMERICAN BIBLE translation conveys the exact opposite; Jesus deemed it unthinkable. The same problem is observed in the King James translation that Jesus "made himself of no reputation" and "was made in the likeness of men." This is vastly different from Jesus "being born in the likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate." Ironically, only two verses later, a clear distinction is made between God the Supreme Being, and Jesus as one who was exalted by God. Obviously, God would have no need to exalt Himself. Jesus the man was exalted by God. The complete biblical context clearly negates the idea that Jesus was God.                                                                                     (continued)