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47.8%ANMag Issue 26 Personal Maintenance
Jesus, Is He or Is He Not, Messenger, Sun/Son of God, Man, or Myth?
By Saad Manasterli, Staff Writer
Fairfax, Virginia − Judaism’s View of Jesus
The belief system in Judaism is monotheistic, meaning that there is only one God and that He/She/It has no partnership with any other deity – just as in Islam. So the idea of Jesus as a deity, part of a deity, a Son of God, is not in compliance with the Jewish belief system. Also, in Judaism there is little mention of Jesus, and little to not an iota of texts referring to his existence or coming as the Messiah or savior of man, except when stating that he is not the awaited-for messiah.
The idea that Jesus is the Son of God, is the reason behind why the historical existence of Christ and his life are not relevant in Judaism. In Judaism, there is the belief that a messiah will come and save all of mankind, especially the Jews. The people that had enough faith to believe that it was Jesus were converts to what we call Christianity, and the others continue to wait. Another reason why the Jewish beliefs do not acknowledge the presence of Jesus as the messiah is because, his arrival was supposed to be preceded and then accompanied by a specific series of events, which according to the Jewish doctrine and belief, as of yet have not occurred. Some of these events, which can be found in many texts in the Old and New Testament, include the return of the Jews to their homeland, the rebuilding of the Third Temple, and a time of peace, where no one will bear arms.
As a result, the Judaic view of Jesus is in part influenced by the fact that he lived while the temple was still standing, and therefore, not in need of rebuilding. He was never a king of the people, and they assumed that Jesus was actually supposed to be from the royal family and not the son of a carpenter, so says the Torah. There was no time of peace in sight, where there weren’t even war training camps and not even an industry of weapons and so on. Also the promise of a return to a homeland, well since Jesus was not alive at the time, instead of being returned to a homeland, the Jews were exiled. So understandably, all of these factors would indicate that Jesus was not the messiah, and from that time forth the wait has continued for the man, the myth, the legend.
“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)
Jesus Christ was a diamond in the rough that became brighter as time went by, and when his wisdom was at its peak, the shine was diminished by the hands of those that placed him upon the cross. What a loss.
Christianity’s View of Jesus
Christianity has many sects of belief such as Catholic, Baptist, Orthodox, and the non-mainstream Christians as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unitarian, and Christian Scientists. As they all believe in Jesus some of their views differ from each other. Most of the mainstream sects believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, and part of the Holy Trinity, sent to save humanity from humans, or better said to rid the world of sin and suffering. A god, who took it upon himself to shed his blood for the blood of the believers, and after his death, was resurrected to join his father in the heavens. So the beliefs held by them include Jesus’ divinity, humanity, and early life, indicating that the views of Christianity embrace the theological doctrines and the historical texts that refer to him. But the non-mainstream Christians believe that Jesus was a messenger that was divinely inspired, meaning that he was driven by the word and spirit of god, but he was not God in material form.
As reflected in the many denominations of Christianity, Christianity has gone through many schisms in its beliefs towards Jesus; however there are common grounds to most believers when it comes to his divinity. Also some Christian groups argue the fact of Jesus never claiming divinity, and to support that, Jesus plainly said that he was not equal with God. This argument is continuously reflected in the rejection of the trinity doctrine know as Unitarianism. It is the belief in one God, and not the different forms of Him, i.e., the Trinity. Other groups within Christianity take the texts of the Bible as simple teachings that Jesus is the son of God, but not God Himself, which is surprisingly wide spread throughout Christianity.
Jesus Christ has inspired many and has had followers in the millions, but the message that he brought was and is unity and peace, and above all love. But after Jesus rose to the heavens, the people were in charge, and when people take charge, things inadvertently change at times to the better and others to the worse. When unity was key, division and discrimination took place. All that God wanted was for us to all get along and love each other, but….
This leads us to the common factor between Christianity and Islam, the Docetics is an early sect of Christianity that just as Muslims believe, that Jesus was not crucified, and that it was an illusion orchestrated by God to test His subjects and to protect His messenger of peace and love.
Islam’s View of Jesus
In Islam Jesus has many names and is well documented in the texts of the Qur’an. Some of his names are Isa, Yassu’, Al-Maseeh. Jesus is held high and is one of God’s highest-ranked and most-beloved prophets, because when he preached peace and love, that was exactly what you got, peace and love. According to the Qur’an Jesus was specifically sent to save the children of Israel. The name Maseeh indicates an extreme relevance to Messiah, and here is the common ground between Judaism and Islam, where Jesus came to save the children of Israel, and was the king of kings, and also no war was conducted in the name of God during his time on earth. This directly correlates with the signs of the coming of the messiah, which were given a blind eye.
Unlike Christian doctrine, the Qur’an does not describe Jesus as the Son of God, but as one of the major prophets sent to God’s people, and the closest thing to being the Son of God, is the exchange of one letter “o” with an “u” to make him the sun of God, or His light, and His knowledge, “Nour Allah” or the spirit of god from which Jesus came. Islam also compares Jesus’s message as being similar to that of other Islamic prophets, from Adam to Mohammed, but after some time it became distorted with the changes made by man to the Bible. Islam believes that Jesus was the bearer of a gospel from God called the Ingeel, which corresponds to the New Testament, except that it went through the aforementioned alterations made by man. Many of the Islamic ideals go hand in hand with those of Christianity, but they split when it comes to Jesus’ death.
The crucifixion of Jesus does not exist in Islam, Jesus does not die, but he is returned to God in heaven and joined with prophets of the past. The crucifixion did happen, not to Jesus, but to a Jesus look-alike. Also the return of Jesus is the same as the Christian view, basically Islam is adamant in the belief of the continuation of religion, and that the holy books were sent in chronological order to save humanity, first the torah, the bible and then the Qur’an.
“That they rejected faith: that they uttered against Mary a grave false charge. That they said (in boast) "We killed Christ (Maseeh) Jesus the son of Mary the Apostle of Allah"; but they killed him not nor crucified him but so it was made to appear to them and those who differ therein are full of doubts with no (certain) knowledge but only conjecture to follow for of a surety they killed him not. Nay Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power Wise And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness against them..” (Qur'an 4:156-159 Surah An-Nisaa (The Women))
Just as in Christianity, Islam has its different sects with different views on the topic of Jesus. Some scholars such as Ahmad Deedat, claim that Jesus was indeed crucified, but did not die on it, that he survived and then joined God in heaven while other Muslims state that it was Judas that was actually crucified, because it was he who sold Jesus out to the Romans, so this was his punishment.
Baha’i Faith’s View of Jesus
In the Bahá’í Faith, Jesus is considered to be a manifestation of God. This manifestation of God through His messengers is referred to as Progressive Revelation, meaning that God will continue to reveal the message to humanity as it matures and is better able to comprehend the purpose of God and the creation of humanity. Just as in the earlier mentioned faiths, God’s word was revealed in the same manner through a series of messengers and prophets, of past, present and future, beginning with Moses and then ending with Bahá’u’lláh, who is the founder of the Bahá’í Faith.
Like Christianity and the divinity of Jesus, in the Bahá’í Faith, the belief in that the messengers of God all have two natures, of all human and all divine, but also being the same being, except when they are perceived as human, they all have distinct individual personalities. So in the Bahai Faith Jesus is seen as a Man and a Messenger, both with equal qualities but nonetheless a man, throughout history Jesus was seen as divine, but the human aspect of Jesus appears in the Bahá’í Faith.
Similarly...when the Jews, who had surrounded Jesus, Son of Mary, were pressing Him to confess His claim of being the Messiah and Prophet of God, so that they might declare Him an infidel and sentence Him to death...
“Though they repeatedly questioned Him, hoping that He would confess His claim, yet Jesus held His peace and spoke not. Finally, an accursed of God arose and, approaching Jesus, adjured Him saying: “Didst thou not claim to be the Divine Messiah? Didst thou not say, ‘I am the King of Kings, My word is the Word of God, and I am the breaker of the Sabbath day?’ Thereupon Jesus lifted up His head and said: “Beholdest thou not the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and might?” These were His words, and yet consider how to outward seeming He was devoid of all power except that inner power which was of God and which had encompassed all that is in heaven and on earth.
So is Jesus the Son/Sun of God, Messenger, Man, or Myth?
It all depends on which religious optical lens you use to filter the different belief systems that have been around for ages. If through the Judaism lens, Jesus is not the messenger nor the son of god, but a myth, a man that was killed for his ideals because he was seen as a threat to the Kings of Judah, and the reason I say just a myth, is because as mentioned before, Jesus was not mentioned in the Torah. In Christianity, Jesus was God, the Son of God, and Messenger, and a Myth; I guess to play it safe one should take it all and assemble it in a means for it to make sense, just as in ancient tribal religions, everything could be explained through the use of magic, nature, and earthly references. Through the Islam lens we saw that Jesus was a Sun of God and a Messenger of His word, who is held high and has many chapters dedicated to him and to his mother, the Virgin Mary. And then through the Bahá’í Faith lens, Jesus was a man with individual ideals and a messenger or a manifestation of God.
So as time goes by and technology advances, new discoveries are unearthed, the idea and ideals of Jesus will continue to change and alter, and with different explanations and interpretations Jesus will remain all five aspects, the Son/Sun of God, Messenger, Man, and a Myth. And until further notice the only constant is change, and change is always good.
Sources:
Carmody, Denise, L. and T.L. Brink (2006), Way to the Center, 6th edition, Thompson Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-52120-7
Esposito, John L. (2002). What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-515713-3.
The Holy Bible, Isaiah 2:4, King James Version, Hendrickson Publishers (January 8, 2004). ISBN 978-1565633254
The Holy Qur'an. An-Nisaa 4:156-159, auth. Allamah Nooridin, trans. Amatul R. Omar. Noor Foundation International, Inc.; 7th edition (May 2005) ISBN 978-0963206732
Johnson, Paul (1987). A History of the Jews. Weidenfeld & Nicolson History; new edition (2001). ISBN 978-1842124796
The Kitáb-i-Íqán, auth. Bahá’u’lláh, trans. Shogi Effendi, U.S. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, (May 2003). ISBN 978-1931847087
Stockman, Robert (1992), Jesus Christ in the Bahá’í Writings, the Bahá'í Studies Review, Vol. 2.1.