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By NPR - Fresh Air
NPR
Interview Highlights
On a major difference between
the first three gospels —
Matthew,
Mark and Luke — and the last gospel, John “ During his
lifetime, Jesus himself didn't call himself God
and
didn't consider himself God, and ... none of his disciples had any
inkling at all that he was God. - Historian Bart Ehrman You do find Jesus calling
himself God in the Gospel of John, or the
last Gospel. Jesus says things like, "Before Abraham was, I am." And,
"I and the Father are one," and, "If you've seen me, you've seen the
Father." These are all statements you find only in the Gospel of John,
and that's striking because we have earlier gospels and we have the
writings of Paul, and in none of them is there any indication that
Jesus said such things. ... I think it's completely
implausible that Matthew, Mark and Luke would
not mention that Jesus called himself God if that's what he was
declaring about himself. That would be a rather important point to
make. This is not an unusual view amongst scholars; it's simply the
view that the Gospel of John is providing a theological understanding
of Jesus that is not what was historically accurate. See
"Link to External Source Article" below to read further. -----------------------------------
The search for the real Jesus goes on... As Urantia Book
reader/students, we are given a unique perspective on
this subject of Jesus' divinity. Even the fact that an entire part (out
of four parts) of this amazing epochal revelation is devoted to Jesus
attests to the significance of this subject. Part I of The
Urantia Book
is devoted entirely to God and his creation; Part IV is devoted
entirely to the life and teachings of Jesus, who, we are taught, WAS
and IS the revelation of this same God to the entire universe of Jesus'
making. He was, in fact, the fourth epochal revelation of God to our
world, and even after 2000 years, his life and his teachings are still
making waves and influencing people every day. The complete restatement
of that life and those teachings are included in The
Urantia Book for
the edification of modern-day humankind. So, what DOES Jesus say about
his divinity? In the article above, the
author correctly quotes Jesus, and The
Urantia Book corroborates these
statements - and adds to them further. Jesus declares: 157:6.11 “We may
not yet proclaim openly that the Son of Man
is
the Son of God, but it has been revealed to you; wherefore do I speak
boldly to you concerning these mysteries. Though I stand before you in
this physical presence, I came forth from God the Father. Before
Abraham was, I am. I did come forth from the Father into this world as
you have known me, and I declare to you that I must presently leave
this world and return to the work of my Father.”
Also see
And, here, Jesus talks to Pilate:
And, here is a statement by the
revelators of The Urantia Book
about
this reality of the divinity of the "Son of the Eternal Son," aka,
Jesus:
The gospels are fragmentary accounts of Jesus life; nonetheless, they
are in essence, the only written evidence of Jesus' life that we have
had up until the indictment of The
Urantia Book. To read more about the gospels,
and how they came to be, please see
THIS
LINK. In this explanation, we
see that the gospels of Matthew Mark
and Luke had questionable authorship at best...and so, the fact that
these statements are not contained therein is not a cause for doubt
about the truth of Jesus' divinity We live in a time when many
things are coming to light...as mentioned
above, the search for Jesus goes on, and for those who have ears to
hear and eyes to se, The
Urantia Book will satisfy that
search fully...
157:6.10
“No man in this
world now sees the Father except the
Son
who came forth from the Father. But if the Son be lifted up, he will
draw all men to himself, and whosoever believes this truth of the
combined nature of the Son shall be endowed with life that is more than
age-abiding.”
157:6.13
“Nevertheless, I tell you that the Father and I are
one.
He who has seen me has seen the Father. My Father is working with me in
all these things, and he will never leave me alone in my mission, even
as I will never forsake you when you presently go forth to proclaim
this gospel throughout the world.
185:3.4
“Then you are a king after all?” said
Pilate. And
Jesus answered: “Yes, I am such a king, and my kingdom is the
family of the faith sons of my Father who is in heaven. For this
purpose was I born into this world, even that I should show my Father
to all men and bear witness to the truth of God. And even now do I
declare to you that every one who loves the truth hears my
voice.”
6:1.4
When a Son of the Eternal Son appeared on Urantia, those who
fraternized with this divine being in human form alluded to him as
“He who was from the beginning, whom we have heard, whom we
have
seen with our eyes, whom we have looked upon, and our hands have
handled, even the Word of life.” And this bestowal Son came
forth
from the Father just as truly as did the Original Son, as is suggested
in one of his earthly prayers: “And now, O my Father, glorify
me
with your own self, with the glory which I had with you before this
world was.”