(The following was posted on Quora, but it was deleted by their moderation. Evidently, truth is hated.)
- Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew. (John 3:3-7)
- Now that we have distinguished the difference between being born the first time, where the amniotic sac (the bag of waters) is broken and a baby is born of water, but not of the Spirit. This is the same as being born of the flesh. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)
- He who has seen me has seen the Father. (John 14:9)
- I and the Father are one. (John 10:30)
- For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell. (Colossians 1:19)
- For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. (1 John 5:4)
Whoever is born of God recognizes the Son and the Father possess the same nature and are Divine.
There are a number of sectarian groups that claim they are Christian and believe
the Son of God is a created being and does not possess the divinity of the
Father.
Mormonism: "The divinity of Jesus is the truth which is now required to be
received...the divinity of Jesus and [divinity] of all other noble and saintly
souls, insofar as they, too, have been inflamed by a spark of deity---insofar as
they, too, can be recognized as manifestations of the Divine."
Christian Science: "The spiritual Christ was infallible; Jesus, as material manhood, was
not Christ."
"In healing the sick and sinning, Jesus elaborated the fact that
the healing effect followed the understanding of the divine Principle and of the
Christ-spirit which governed the corporeal Jesus."
Jehovah's Witness: "He was a
spirit person, just as 'God is a Spirit'; he was a mighty one, although not
almighty as Jehovah God is; also he was before all others of God's creatures,
for he was the first son that Jehovah God brought forth. Hence he is called 'the
only begotten Son' of God, for God has no partner in bringing forth his
first-begotten Son."
The Way: "...The Gospel of John established the truth of
God's Word that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, not 'God the Son' or 'God
Himself'."
The Unification Church: "Historically, Jesus the Messiah came in
Adam's place to restore mankind. He was not Deity...it is a great error to think
Jesus was God Himself."[1]
Christadelphians: "Jesus Christ is a man, not God. He
did not exist prior to his earthly incarnation. He was the Son of God and
salvation requires acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior. Christadelphians
believe that since Jesus died, he cannot be God because God cannot die."[2]
There
are some small sects that believe Jesus was a master of wisdom but not the Son
of God.
Here are three organizations that are often thought to be Christian that
believe Jesus is just another master:
Unity Church -- Jesus is a master teacher of universal truths and the Way-Shower in Unity teachings. "Unity teaches that the
spirit of God lived in Jesus, just as it lives in every person.' Jesus expressed
his divine potential and showed others how to express their divinity, which
Unity calls Christ. Unity does not refer to Jesus as God, Son of God, Savior, or
Messiah.[3]
Freemasonry: Mason’s View: There is no exclusivity in Jesus Christ
or the Triune God who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; therefore there is no
doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ. It is deemed to be un-Masonic to invoke
the name of Jesus when praying, or mention His name in the Lodge. Suggesting
that Jesus is the only way to God contradicts the principle of tolerance. The
name of Jesus has been omitted from biblical verses that are used in Masonic
rituals. Jesus is on the same level as other religious leaders.[4]
Scientology: "But what I am telling you is that these people handed on a torch of wisdom, of information, generation to generation. It was handed along geographical routes and one of those geographical routes was the Middle East. And one of the people who handed it on was a man named Moses. And again it was handed on to a man named Christ. And he handed it on and even the Arab nations benefited from this through their own prophet, Muhammad. And these men I consider great spiritual leaders, because they gave to Man, on down through the years, the hope that life could go on, that there was a spiritual side to existence, that the business of barter and gain was not all there was to life.”[5]
There are numerous beliefs possessed by people that appear to be based upon the Bible and have an echo of
true Christianity but they all fall short by denying the divinity of Lord Jesus
Christ.
- I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. (1 John 5:13-15)
The grace of God is such that even those who believe in the name of the Son of God can enter into eternal life providing that
they believe He hears their prayer, because they desire to do His will by
turning away from sin.
Footnotes
[1] "Christian" Cults and Sects
[2] What Do Christadelphians
Believe and Practice?
[3] What Do Unity Churches Believe?
[4] What is Free Masonry and what do Free Masons believe?
[5] L. Ron Hubbard on Past Religious Leaders & Religious Tolerance: Official Church of Scientology
