By c.pio on The Catholic Point
Answer to Iglesia Ni Cristo-1914 Video: Who Made Christ God? Part I
To
begin with, have you read what Christ said in Matt.13:10-11?
His disciples came and asked him,
"Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?" He replied,
"You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven,
but others are not. [Matthew 13:10-11]
Now
let us check those who have been given the knowledge to understand the mystery
of the Kingdom of
Heaven to those who are
not.
I. That Christ Never
Claimed to Be God.
This
statement is totally wrong, That is to say Christ claimed he was.
(a) He claimed that
he is the Lord of the Sabbath.
[Deuteronomy 5:12] - "Observe
the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your
God commanded you."
[Leviticus 26:2] - "You shall keep My
Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary; I am the Lord."
Christ said he is the Lord of the Sabbath, an undoubted proof that he claimed
to be divine:
[Matthew 12:8] – “For the Son of Man is Lord
of the Sabbath."
He
even testified that the Sabbath was
established by God only for man [Mark 2:27]
[John 5:18] For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to
kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own
Father, making himself equal with God.
(b) He claimed that
he and God the Father are ONE
[John 10:29-30] My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my
Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
Christ claimed: “I and the Father are one.” If I said: “I, c.pio, and the
Father are one” you would surely be scandalized. Once again we have Christ
claiming his deity by making a statement that a mere rational mortal could
never utter.
(c) He claimed the
name of God “I AM”
In Exodus 3:13-14,
Moses was at the burning bush and he asked God what His name was. God
replied, "I AM WHO I AM";
and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you."
But Christ said:
[John 8:58] “before Abraham was
born, I AM”
The
Jewish leaders gathered around listening to Jesus knew exactly what He meant; they
picked up stones to kill Him. He was claiming to be the great I AM and they
understood that.
Seven
times in the Gospel of John Jesus claims to be the great “I am” [John 4:26;
6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5]. He is stating His claim to be God.
(d) He claimed that
Prophets were persecuted because of him.
[Matthew 5:11-12] “Blessed are you
when men shall revile you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Here
we have a clear claim of his divinity. It attests that the prophets and
the
disciples were/will be persecuted for the same one reason: for the his
sake. No human being could claim that the prophets of hundreds of years
earlier had been persecuted for his sake. Only a pre-existing entity
could make
such a claim—only God could make the claim.
(e) He clearly places
his pronouncements on the same level as Holy Scripture.
[Matthew 5:21-22] You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou
shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the
judgment. But
I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to
judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought
before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of
hell.
[Matthew 5:27-28] "You have heard the commandment that says, 'You must not
commit adultery.' But I say,
anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with
her in his heart.
[Matthew 5:43-44] "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your
neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those
who persecute you!
Christ’s
comments on the Law attest to his divinity. ‘Thou
shall not kill,’ but I say…” or “Thou shall
not.. but I say…” Thou shall not.. but I say…
We need to consider the magnitude of these statements. Jesus is speaking to an audience that considered the Old Testament as the inspired word of God. Christ, calmly recites the Old Testament passages, and then proceeds to make statements that supersede them. He clearly places his pronouncements on the same level as Holy Scripture. Only God can do this. For even the apostle Paul never stated that “scripture says this, but what I say…”
We need to consider the magnitude of these statements. Jesus is speaking to an audience that considered the Old Testament as the inspired word of God. Christ, calmly recites the Old Testament passages, and then proceeds to make statements that supersede them. He clearly places his pronouncements on the same level as Holy Scripture. Only God can do this. For even the apostle Paul never stated that “scripture says this, but what I say…”
(f) He claimed that
he is the source of Morality
[John 15:5] I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing.
Jesus
tells us that He is the vine, we, his disciples are the branches, and the fruit
we bear are the good works (moral conduct). Here Christ is teaching something significant:
while the branch bears fruit, the ultimate source is the vine. Which he clearly
illustrates in Matthew 5:16
[Matthew 5:16] In the same way,
let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your
Father in heaven.
(g) He bracket
himself to God the Father and to the Holy Spirit
[Matthew 28:19] Therefore go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
We
know from his earlier teaching that he meant himself when he refers to “the
Son”, and here he brackets himself between the Father and the Holy Spirit. If
He were not God, then He just spoke blasphemy.
Why
didn’t Jesus make a simple declarative statement I am God? It is because for the same reason He spoke in parables [Matt.
13:10].
II. That Who Made Him God.
According
to them, Christ was not worshipped by Early Christian Communities as divine
person prior to the Council of Nicea. I repeat, prior to the Nicene Council
Christ is not God! thus during this council, through the influence of Emperor
Constantine, they made him God.
The
lack on historical facts to substantiate this conclusion makes this more sounds
funny. To answer the allegation, We must then go
back and investigate prior to Council of Nicea (or prior to 4th
Century A.D.).
On this section, I
would rather opt not to post here the accounts of some Early Church Fathers (which is obviously all were Catholics) who
lived prior to the council. So what will I cite here is an external evidence.
(a) The Megiddo Church
The ancient Megiddo church near Tel Megiddo, Israel is an
archeological site which preserves the foundations of one of the oldest church
buildings ever discovered by archaeologists dating to the 3rd century A.D.
Among the finds is an approx.
54-square-metre (580 sq ft) large mosaic with a Greek inscription
stating that:
"The
God-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a
memorial."
(b) The account of
Pliny the Younger
Pliny
the Younger was governor of Pontus/Bithynia from 111-113 A.D. He wrote to
Emperor Trajan regarding the early Christian church, their worship of Christ,
and how he persecuted, tortured, and murdered them:
Pliny the Younger |
This
example shows clearly that even the Romans knew that Jesus was being worshipped
and wanted to "check and cure" "the contagion of this
superstition" that had "spread not only to the cities but also to the
villages and farms."
(b) The Alexamenos graffito
The
Alexamenos graffito is an inscription carved in plaster on a wall near the
Palatine Hill in Rome
[dated early 3rd Century] The image depicts a human-like figure
attached to a cross and possessing the head of a donkey. Beneath the cross
there is a caption written in crude Greek:
Αλεξαμενος
ϲεβετε θεον. [Alexamenos,
worship God!]
During the time of Christians’ persecution, Romans accused Christian for worshipping a donkey because they believed Christ was donkey (see my article on Sign of the cross)
ang galing naman nito brod.
ReplyDeleteapologist din ho ba na pinoy si c.pio?
yes. Pilipino po yan si C. Pio, bilib ako diyan dahil ang gaganda nung mga post niya sa kanyang blog.
DeleteAng galing. madaling maintindihan.
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