....and does it matter?

The single most important question of history.

We date our calendar from his advent. Approximately 30% of the world profess him as Son of God, and have structured their theological foundations on that claim.

Perhaps this question would not be so vexing if it did not raise ideas about 'how many Gods'?
If Jesus is God, then... who is The Father ? How can God talk to himself unless he is at least 2 persons? If Jesus is 'God', how could he 'die', why would he say “My God my God, why have you forsaken me” while on the cross?

This question also, is the dividing line between Islam and Christianity. If Jesus is 'truly' God in the flesh, and His claims are founded in truth, then clearly no other faith of any description is acceptable to God. “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father, but by me” said Jesus: (John 14:6)

This may seem 'arrogant' 'intolerant' 'exclusivist' etc.. but this is a charge to which most if not all faiths which proclaim 'salvation' can be subjected. The major contenders in the 'Salvation' stakes are Islam and Christianity, and in each case there are sects and different traditions.

We can explore these and many other questions in the course of this thread.

SOURCES:
-Gospel_of_John.
-Scholarly_literature.
Below is a survey of some scholarship
The survey is not written or compiled from a 'conservative' or fundamentalist standpoint.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/info/john-survey.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christology

Questions we can pursue are:

Is Jesus 'God' ... i.e. God the Father?
Is Jesus God the Father 'manifest in the flesh'?
Is Jesus 'Separate from yet one with' the Father ? (and Spirit)
Trinity ?

PROPHETIC BACKGROUND.

Psalm 22
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=22&version=31

Why did Jesus cry out on the Cross "Why have you forsaken me" ?

Please read the above link, for the answer.

The approach I will take is to focus on what scripture itself says about Jesus, but restrict the focus just to the Gospel of John, in order to make the topic more managable. This source alone is probably the strongest, and other material either complements it, or should be seen in the light of it. (such as passages suggesting a lower status than 'God' for Jesus)

John 8
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=8&version=31

The whole chapter should be read for context, but the key passage is in verse 58

"I tell you the truth, before Abraham was.. I AM" The response of his listeners, was to immediately try to stone him. (why ?)

John 10
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=10&version=31

Verses 22-42

Note the words 'AGAIN' the Jews picked up stones to stone him. Why?

Same reason they desired to stone him in the previous passage.
They knew exactly what he was saying. In this passage he speaks clearly 'I am God's Son'......

These passages have, and will continue to, divide the world. But of one thing we can be absolutely sure, that in Context, taking all the information into account, as we would with any docuement, we are faced with the Son of God.. God the son.

For the Islamic view, see this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5TW7vLJQJw
Note, how Mr Deedat agrees with much about Jesus, but, sadly, he either misunderstands or misinterprets the above passages in the light of the Quran.
Beware..this man is a master of the 'straw man', he also uses invalid humor to try to make his case. :)

"Is Jesus....God?"

No.

... Not before the fourth century theists gave him a promotion.

The idea of Jesus as a god developed over three generations, after Nicaea [325]. The Arthanasian creed did state that Jesus was divine but did explain how Logos became the same substance, as the Father, without their being a second god. The notion of homoiousion was invented by Marcellus, Bishop of Ancrya in 339, wherein, we have Western Christian notion of the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Herein, The Christians' God's Ousia is unknowable but the Trinity is a revealed as a manifestation of the unfathomable.

Alternatively, Arius would have held that while Jesus may have been instilled with divine apatheia; Jesus, if he were a god, could not be a perfect example of humanity. He would have to be human; else being a god, the deck is stacked in Jesus' favour. Only a human could live a perfect human life. Moreover, this case puts a fly in the ointment of a sinless "human's" substititionary ransom.

Islam from its beginnings took Jesus to be an inportant prophet, but focused more on its deeper roots to Abraham. Originally, Muhammad directd that Muslims pray facing Jerusalem, but when the Jews made a mockery of the lack of sophistication in Islamic religious studies, the direction of prayer was chnaged to Mecca, because the [ancient even then] Kabah held early assocations with Abraham.

In the region where Jesus lived and taught: Between 300 BCE - 100 CE, there were plenty of Messiahs a foot [ahem], of which, Jesus [Joshua aka Ieous] was merely one. These wondering people were presumably "humans" with concerns about Greek then Roman occupation. Jesus may have been differentiated teaching about a more ethereal Kingdom, but qualities that would make him human alone don't make him god by definition, whereas, as noted above, were he a [part] god; his example and ransom become meaningless

"Is Jesus ...God"?
Please excuse me while I throw and intimate wobble with myself! What kind of question is this? Where have you been for the past 2000 years?
You are desperately in need of a thing called a "church" normally run by a "preacher or pastor" or for that matter, any church goer. There are plenty of them and are willing to help those like yourself who seem "lost" or confused.
Yerrss, there are many contradictive passages in the bible and the good book has been re-written umpteen times, so we must allow for error somewhere along the way, especially since the bible was translated "only he knows" how many times, as far as I know and it's not that I know much about it, was translated from Hebrew. In the day, how many people knew how to speak English to enable the translation to what it is today, we now have those who are "reading between the lines" in the bible, in a desperate attempt to unravel those contradictive areas.

Fascinating. I must thank Oliver for his erudite contributions to these theological threads - in which I don't for the most part participate, but do read sometimes with interest.

"Homoiousion": Now, there's a word I've never come across before... thanks for that!

The idea that there were numerous "Messiahs" lurking around the Middle East strikes me as being quite plausible. The consubstantiation business seems to me to be particularly inspired hocus pocus.

Great stuff. I think that the answer to Boazy's question is that of course Jesus is God, if you really want him to be :)