Is Jesus God?

[Lui]

I know the question sounds strange but I thought that it is obvious to every Christian that Jesus IS God.
I was talking to a Turkish woman who cleans the offices at my work the other day and who is a Muslim. We discussed the difference of Islam and Christianity. At one point I told her that Christians believe that Jesus is God because she said that the reason he can’t be the son of God is because God can’t have a son or a daughter. I explained that Jesus is the son of God but he is God as well. Her response was that she never heard anybody ever make this claim and that she would ask a Protestant pastor she knows if this is true.

Today she told me that the Protestant pastor told her that he is NOT God but only the **son **of God. I said that I don’t believe that a Protestant pastor would say that. She then asked a couple of my work colleagues about their opinion and they all said that he is only the son of God, including a Catholic work colleague who has been singing in a Catholic choir ever since she was a child.
I couldn’t believe it. How can even a woman who has been a faithful Catholic all her life claim that Jesus is not God but only the son of God? Is everyone else right and I got it all wrong:hypno:

 

[InLight247]

Yes, Jesus is God.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity.

Maybe some Protestant pastor and some Protestants in Germany are misinformed. And some Catholics could be lack of knowledge of their own faith also.

Jesus is God, no doubt.

 

[Lui]

What annoys me is that a Muslim who lives in a Christian country tells me, a Catholic, that not only my belief is wrong but also mocks me for “not knowing” my own faith.
Actually it also annoys me that it annoys me.

 

[InLight247]

John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word,
And the Word was with God,
And the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through Him,
and without Him nothing came to be.
What came to be through Him was life,
And this life was the light of human race:
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 20:28
Thomas answered and said to him(Jesus), "My Lord, my God!"

Above are just couple examples, black and white, in the Bible, state that Jesus is God.
There are many other Bible passages said the same.

Next time if you run into such situation, it does not matter how many other Christians said otherwise, show them various Bible passages to rest the case.

 

[Lui]

I never doubted that Jesus is God.
It’s just when someone claims a PROTESTANT pastor and a work colleague who is Catholic both deny he is God, you ask yourself how many people are misinformed.
I feel like asking the Muslim woman who the Protestant pastor is and actually ask him myself in order to believe that he actually said that. It’s possible that the Muslim woman misunderstood it because I seriously doubt that any Protestant pastor would make this claim.

 

[Tietjen]

I never doubted that Jesus is God.
It’s just when someone claims a PROTESTANT pastor and a work colleague who is Catholic both deny he is God, you ask yourself how many people are misinformed.
I feel like asking the Muslim woman who the Protestant pastor is and actually ask him myself in order to believe that he actually said that. It’s possible that the Muslim woman misunderstood it because I seriously doubt that any Protestant pastor would make this claim.

ahhh… You’d be surprised at some of the ideas pastors have. Unfortunately, I am speaking about ALL faiths when I say that, including Catholicism. However, be glad… it is an absolute that in time every single person (past, present and future) will know the Truth. God bless you Lui

 

[John_Hiner]

How can even a woman who has been a faithful Catholic all her life claim that Jesus is not God but only the son of God?

Laudatur Iesus Christus.

Dear Lui:

Jesus is God; one should not doubt it.

Misuse of language is rampant in American society and among the members of the Church that speak American English. (I do not claim better for other English speaking people, only my lack of direct experience of them.) This makes important truths difficult to assert or to maintain. Many Catholics in the United States speak a form of English that is incompatible with fundamental elements of the Faith. From the little contact that I have with contemporary German usage, I suspect that the same problem arises in modern German.

I say all of this because of the statement quoted above, “How can even a woman who has been a faithful Catholic all her life claim that Jesus is not God but only the son of God.” The answer is, “She cannot.” Either this woman is not a “faithful Catholic” or she does not make this claim. She may be a Catholic and voice this claim, but she cannot be a “faithful Catholic.”

The assertion is made that this woman has “been singing in a Catholic choir ever since she was a child.” This is troubling, but not surprising, given the misuse of music in many parishes. Clearly, “fully conscious and actual participation” is not being accomplished, if one is not conscious of what is prayed in the Holy Mass each Sunday:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
**God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, **
begotten not made, one in Being with the Father. (Nicene Creed, Profession of Faith, Daily Roman Missal, (sixth edition, 2003).)

Wir glauben . . .
an den einen Herrn Jesus Christus,
Gottes eingeborenen Sohn, aus dem Vater geboren vor aller Zeit:
**Gott von Gott, Licht vom Licht, wahrer Gott vom wahren Gott, **
gezeugt, nicht geschaffen, eines Wesens mit dem Vater; (Katechismus der Katholischen Kirche, 184)

So, this woman may or may not mean what you have understood her to say; and on this ground one might say she “may or may not” be a “good Catholic” or a member of the faithful. However, so long as you think she means what you have reported, you should not mix the two ideas in your mind. You cannot think a person who claims what you think she claims is a “faithful Catholic.” You may be wrong about her state of belief, however, you are certainly wrong to equate a person who denies the Godhead of Jesus Christ with a faithful Catholic.

There is a similar issue with the “Protestant pastor.” Protestants *as such *are not Christians. Those Protestants who are baptized are “honored with the name of christian,” (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 15); however, there is no knowing from the posts so far whether this “Protestant pastor” is baptized or not. If he is not baptized he is not even a “separated brother.” If baptized, he is no more likely to reflect the Faith in what he says than a baptized youngster who has not learned the Faith from the Church.

One should not let such statements shake one’s confidence in the Faith. However, resisting these concussions is very difficult if we are not careful in what we say and how we habitually use language. If we are in the habit of assuming “Protestants” to be Christian, we will easily be mislead about what constitutes Christ’s teachings, because it is in baptism and not in teaching that “Protestants” are “honored with the name christian,” (Ibid.).

This may seem harsh, but the initial post is a good example of why this firm mental discipline is needed to defend the true faith, even in one’s own mind.

Pax Christi nobiscum.

John Hiner