criticisms of jesus being son of god

• Son of God


  In Jewish times the phrase was often used to refer to the king, as someone chosen by God to carry out his will on earth, so not necessarily meaning that he had a divine nature
• The belief that Jesus' nature was divine, the hypostatic union, developed only after his death and was confirmed later by the council of Nicaea
• Groups that had different understanding of Christology and did not believe Jesus was fully divine

  • Ebionites
  • Arians
• Demythologise Jesus


  Understand phrases such as 'Son of God' or reports of Jesus performing miracles as metaphorical – indicating his special status as a spiritual teacher
• Jesus' real identity and authority


  As a teacher of wisdom, not as a divine being
• The claim that Jesus' miracles are evidence that he was divine

  Has been challenged
• David Hume: ''a wise man proportions his belief to the evidence''
• Miracles


  Violations of a law of nature, we would need a huge quantity of evidence to overturn our belief in laws of nature
• Hume argues that claims of miracles tend to come from 'ignorant and barbarous nations'
• Hume's claim is that the Biblical reports of miracles are insufficient evidence, meaning they do not offer strong evidence in Jesus' divinity