When did Christians begin to think Jesus was Divine.

[polonius]

The title "son of God" is frequent in the Old Testament. The word "son" was employed among the Semites to signify not only filtration, but other close connection or intimate relationship.

Israelite s (Deuteronomy 14:50); and of Israel, as a nation, we read: "And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

“Most Jews no longer believe in a coming Messiah. Of the three main branches within Judaism, only orthodox Jews tend to hold to this hope and they do not conceive of Messiah as divine; he is merely a human being. “

When did the early Christians begin to claim that Jesus was a divine Messiah and what happened to them because of this view?

[brianbbs67]

Brian is basically correct in the above post, but I might suggest that the break between Christianity and Judaism may have been a few years either way from 85 A.D.

Wkipedia
“The Book of Acts reports that the early followers continued daily Temple attendance and traditional Jewish home prayer. Other passages in the New Testament gospels reflect a similar observance of traditional Jewish piety such as fasting, reverence for the Torah and observance of Jewish holy days. Jesus was a pious Jew, worshipping the Jewish God, preaching interpretations of Jewish law and accepted as the Jewish Messiah by his disciples.[citation needed] Proponents of higher criticism claim that regardless of how one interprets the mission of Jesus, that he must be understood in context as a 1st-century Palestinian Jew.[“


Following the death of Jesus, the Christian-Jews continued to be observant Temple worshipers. Theirs was a sect of Temple worshiping Jews known as "The Way" or "The Nazarenes."



Acts 2:2-24 (Peter speaking c. 80 AD)

"2 You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. 23 This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
24But God raised him up (not "he rose") , releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it."


The central dispute leading to "the parting of the ways" was the basic Jewish Commandment

Sh'ma Yisra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.
"Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One."

When Christians claimed that Jesus too was divine, they broke this commandment

John 16:2 (written about 95 AD)
"They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God."

Encyclopedia of Judaism
12 Benediction : Under Rabban Gamaliel II (first century C.E.) this prayer was invoked against the Judeo-Christian and Gnostic sects and other heretics who were called by the general term min (plural minim). To avoid any suspicion of heresy, the hazzan had to be certain to recite this prayer in public worship.

I agree. It could have been many years, plus or minus. I gave a "rule of thumb" year. The point is, Yeshua was a teacher of the Isrealite faith and considered of great wisdom, goodness, and acts. Not God or a god. So, for 60 +- years, his legacy remained intact. And then, "now for something completely different" arrived and cause the schism with the Hebrews. Who would do any different in their church, today? Pastor Robinson was a great man and taught many the word of God. Now, Pastor Robinson is God, because many said so.

I do not know and it can not proven that Yeshua is God. The closest is "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father", which could refer to physical resemblance, ethical resemble or actual appearance. Why would God leave us with that question, which is very important? He would not, in my belief. Although, Christ's divinity could be true, I must admit as the evidence is schektchy for either. As the trinitarian revision and additions leave me doubting. And there is this fact, Christ never claimed he was God. Nor did his disciples. That should be a big hint.

[marco]

The title "son of God" is frequent in the Old Testament. The word "son" was employed among the Semites to signify not only filtration, but other close connection or intimate relationship.


When did the early Christians begin to claim that Jesus was a divine Messiah and what happened to them because of this view?

Just a tiny correction Polonius - I think you mean filiation, not filtration. Filius/ filia means son/ daughter.


As to Christ's deification, surrounding Roman practices would have encouraged the idea. If Jesus was the Word and the Word was God, that's an end to it for many. I think perhaps as his legend spread, so too did his proximity to God, until they were impossibly one and the same.

[Elijah John]

The title "son of God" is frequent in the Old Testament. The word "son" was employed among the Semites to signify not only filtration, but other close connection or intimate relationship.


When did the early Christians begin to claim that Jesus was a divine Messiah and what happened to them because of this view?

Just a tiny correction Polonius - I think you mean filiation, not filtration. Filius/ filia means son/ daughter.


As to Christ's deification, surrounding Roman practices would have encouraged the idea. If Jesus was the Word and the Word was God, that's an end to it for many. I think perhaps as his legend spread, so too did his proximity to God, until they were impossibly one and the same.

It's almost as though some early Christians took the figurative Semitic notion of "Son of God", dipped it into a Roman cauldron, and literalized it. And in the process, making it into a brand new (mini) Panetheon they call the "Trinity". There is much to your comparisons, Marco. And yes they can be extended if we include Mary and the Saints as lesser Divinities, as the RCC seems to be (in effect) doing.

[marco]

It's almost as though some early Christians took the figurative Semitic notion of "Son of God", dipped it into a Roman cauldron, and literalized it. And in the process, making it into a brand new (mini) Panetheon they call the "Trinity". There is much to your comparisons, Marco.

We must give Jesus some of the blame for the misunderstanding. He constantly used the word Father which eventually settles as a human concept in the brains of believers, and the "son" then stops being figurative but literal truth.

[polonius]

The title "son of God" is frequent in the Old Testament. The word "son" was employed among the Semites to signify not only filtration, but other close connection or intimate relationship.


When did the early Christians begin to claim that Jesus was a divine Messiah and what happened to them because of this view?

Just a tiny correction Polonius - I think you mean filiation, not filtration. Filius/ filia means son/ daughter.


As to Christ's deification, surrounding Roman practices would have encouraged the idea. If Jesus was the Word and the Word was God, that's an end to it for many. I think perhaps as his legend spread, so too did his proximity to God, until they were impossibly one and the same.

RESPONSE: Oops! I think a career in the medical laboratory sciences has conditioned my poor brain to type "filtration" after the first three letters. I'll try to be careful in the future!

[Elijah John]

It's almost as though some early Christians took the figurative Semitic notion of "Son of God", dipped it into a Roman cauldron, and literalized it. And in the process, making it into a brand new (mini) Panetheon they call the "Trinity". There is much to your comparisons, Marco.

We must give Jesus some of the blame for the misunderstanding. He constantly used the word Father which eventually settles as a human concept in the brains of believers, and the "son" then stops being figurative but literal truth.

But he also used the term "Our Father", and the phrase "your Father in Heaven".

[polonius]

It's almost as though some early Christians took the figurative Semitic notion of "Son of God", dipped it into a Roman cauldron, and literalized it. And in the process, making it into a brand new (mini) Panetheon they call the "Trinity". There is much to your comparisons, Marco.

We must give Jesus some of the blame for the misunderstanding. He constantly used the word Father which eventually settles as a human concept in the brains of believers, and the "son" then stops being figurative but literal truth.

But he also used the term "Our Father", and the phrase "your Father in Heaven".

COMMENT:

Do any readers pray the Lord's Prayer beginning with "Our Father who art in heaven."

Are they claiming to be the actual sons or daughters of God?

[brianbbs67]

It's almost as though some early Christians took the figurative Semitic notion of "Son of God", dipped it into a Roman cauldron, and literalized it. And in the process, making it into a brand new (mini) Panetheon they call the "Trinity". There is much to your comparisons, Marco.

We must give Jesus some of the blame for the misunderstanding. He constantly used the word Father which eventually settles as a human concept in the brains of believers, and the "son" then stops being figurative but literal truth.

But he also used the term "Our Father", and the phrase "your Father in Heaven".

COMMENT:

Do any readers pray the Lord's Prayer beginning with "Our Father who art in heaven."

Are they claiming to be the actual sons or daughters of God?

I don't repeat it much as Christ told us not to engage in vain repetitions like hypocrites or pagans. But, when I do , I mostly recite it as written in Luke modified by the NU text. (which seems to how the earliest versions were found) The Lord's prayer is an interesting study of the word Epiousios, which only appears in Mat. and Luke and no where else in Kione literature. So, no one really knows what we translate as "daily" really means. Just another mystery of the NT.

[Elijah John]

COMMENT:

Do any readers pray the Lord's Prayer beginning with "Our Father who art in heaven."

Are they claiming to be the actual sons or daughters of God?

I think you know that Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican/Episcopalians do pray the Lord's prayer verbatim, at the very least as part of the Mass, and when doing Rosary, and if any do the Liturgy of the Hours, and the Divine Office.

And no, they are not claiming to be actual sons or daughters of God, if by that you mean literal children of God, born without human fathers.

Do you think that the historical Jesus ever claimed otherwise? Did he believe he had no human Father? Or is the Virgin Birth story a "pious fiction" as JD Crossan tells us. Why does the earliest Gospel, Mark, have no Virgin Birth narrative? (all these questions... )

[onewithhim]

The title "son of God" is frequent in the Old Testament. The word "son" was employed among the Semites to signify not only filtration, but other close connection or intimate relationship.

Israelite s (Deuteronomy 14:50); and of Israel, as a nation, we read: "And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

“Most Jews no longer believe in a coming Messiah. Of the three main branches within Judaism, only orthodox Jews tend to hold to this hope and they do not conceive of Messiah as divine; he is merely a human being. “

When did the early Christians begin to claim that Jesus was a divine Messiah and what happened to them because of this view?

To call anyone a "son" of God does not conflict with Jesus being God's only begotten Son. The angels are even called "sons of God." (E.g., Genesis 6:2-4) The Scripture does not refrain from referring to others as sons of God, and presents Jesus Christ as a unique Son. He is the first being that God created, thus "the only begotten Son of God." The only personage that God directly created. Everything else was created through Jesus.

That most Jews no longer believe in the Messiah does not discredit the numerous references in the Hebrew Scriptures to the Messiah. The leaders of the Jewish communities refuse to attribute hundreds of Scriptures to the Messiah, though these passages could refer only to a divine Messiah and not to a mere man. For pete'ssake, the Jews even refuse to utter the name of God, even though He specifically stated that they should use His name forever (Exodus 3:15...in the Hebrew Scriptures the Tetragrammaton YHWH appears there; they say "Lord" or "Adonai," but "YHWH" actually appears there, translated as "Jehovah" into English). The Living Bible, the American Standard Bible and Young's Literal Translation are just three that translate the name of God where it should be.

Now, teaching that Jesus is God wasn't known to the earliest Christians. It started getting attention toward the end of the first century after the last Apostle died. It gradually became more popular, even though there is nothing in the Scriptures about a polytheistic God. By the early 4th century Jesus being God was being accepted by the majority of the religious leaders (who wanted to appease Constantine).

Jesus is the SON of God, not God, and even the Hebrew Scriptures point to him as more than a mere man.