fbpx
Wikipedia

Religious perspectives on Jesus

The religious perspectives on Jesus vary among world religions.[1] Jesus' teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of human history, and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people, including non-Christians.[1][2][3] He is considered by many to be one of the most influential persons to have ever lived, finding a significant place in numerous cultural contexts.[4]

In Christianity, Jesus is the Messiah (Christ) foretold in the Old Testament and the Son of God. Christians believe that through his death and resurrection, humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.[5] These beliefs emphasize that as the willing Lamb of God, Jesus chose to suffer in Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his Father, as an "agent and servant of God".[6][7] Christians view Jesus as a role model, whose God-focused life believers are encouraged to imitate.

In Islam, Jesus (commonly transliterated as Isa) is the Messiah and one of God's highest-ranked and most-beloved prophets. Islam considers Jesus to be neither the incarnation nor the Son of God. He is referred to as the son of Mary in the Qu’ran. Islamic texts emphasize a strict affirmation of monotheism (tawhid) and forbid the association of partners with God, which would be idolatry (shirk).

In the Druze faith, Jesus is considered one of God's important prophets and the Messiah.[8][9]

The Baháʼí Faith considers Jesus to be one of many manifestations of God, who are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world. Baháʼís reject the idea that divinity was contained with a single human body.

Apart from his own disciples and followers, the Jews of Jesus' day generally rejected him as the Messiah, as do the great majority of Jews today. Mainstream Jewish scholars argue that Jesus neither fulfilled the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal qualifications of the Messiah.

Sikhism views Jesus as a high-ranked Holy man or saint.

Other world religions such as Buddhism have no particular view on Jesus, and have but a minor intersection with Christianity.

For non-religious perspectives on Jesus, see historical Jesus.

Christianity edit

Christian views of Jesus are based on the teachings and beliefs as outlined in the Canonical gospels, New Testament letters, the Christian creeds, as well as specific denominational teachings. These documents outline the key beliefs held by Christians about Jesus, including his divinity, humanity, and earthly life, and that he is the Christ and the Son of God.[10]

Although Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to summarize the key beliefs shared among major denominations, as stated in their catechetical or confessional texts.[11] Generally speaking, adhering to the Christian faith requires a belief that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah or Christ. Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God in the New Testament.[12]

Christians consider Jesus to be the Messiah (Christ) and believe that through his death and resurrection, humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.[5] These teachings emphasize that as the willing Lamb of God, Jesus chose to suffer in Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his Father, as an "agent and servant of God".[6][7] The choice Jesus made thus counter-positions him as a new man of morality and obedience, in contrast to Adam's disobedience.[13]

The five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus are his Baptism, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension.[14][15][16] These are usually bracketed by two other episodes: his Nativity at the beginning and the sending of the Paraclete at the end.[14][16] The gospel accounts of the teachings of Jesus are often presented in terms of specific categories involving his "works and words", e.g. his ministry, parables and miracles.[17][18] The words of Jesus include several sermons, in addition to parables that appear throughout the narrative of the Synoptic Gospels (the gospel of John includes no parables).

Christians not only attach theological significance to the works of Jesus, but also to his name. Devotions to the Holy Name of Jesus go back to the earliest days of Christianity.[19][20] These devotions and feasts exist both in Eastern and Western Christianity.[20]

Incarnation edit

Most Christians believe that Jesus was both human and the Son of God. While there have been theological debate over the nature of Jesus, Trinitarian Christians generally believe that Jesus is God incarnate, God the Son, and "true God and true man" (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, yet he did not sin. As fully God, he defeated death and rose to life again. According to the Bible, God raised him from the dead.[21] He ascended to heaven, to the "right hand of God,"[22] and he will return again for the Last Judgment and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.[23]

Islam edit

In Islam, Jesus (Isa) is considered to be a messenger of God (Allah) and the Messiah (al-Masih) who was sent to guide the Descendants of Israel (Bani Isra'il) with a new scripture, the Gospel (Injil).[24][25]

The Quran mentions Jesus by name 25 times—more often than Muhammad[26]—and emphasises that Jesus was a mortal human who, like all other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God's message.[27] Unlike Christian writings, the Quran does not describe Jesus as the son of God, but as one of four major human messengers (out of many prophets) sent by God throughout history to guide mankind.[28] Jesus is said to have lived a life of piety and generosity, and abstained from eating flesh of swine.

Muslims also believe that Jesus received a Gospel from God, called the Injil. However, Muslims hold that Jesus' original message was lost or altered and that the Christian New Testament does not accurately represent God's original message to mankind.[29]

Despite major differences, the Quran and New Testament overlap in other aspects of Jesus' life; both Muslims and Christians believe that Jesus was miraculously born without a human biological father by the will of God, and that his mother, Mary (Maryam in Arabic), is among the most saintly, pious, chaste and virtuous women ever.[30] The Quran also specifies that Jesus was able to perform miracles—though only by the will of God—including being able to raise the dead, restore sight to the blind and cure lepers.[31] One miracle attributed to Jesus in the Quran, but not in the New Testament, is his being able to speak at only a few days old, to defend his mother from accusations of adultery.[32] It also says that Jesus was a 'word' from God, since he was predicted to come in the Old Testament.

Most Muslims believe that he was neither killed nor crucified, but that God made it appear so to his enemies. With the noteworthy exception of Ahmadi Muslims who believe that Jesus was indeed put on the cross, survived the crucifixion and was not lifted bodily to the heaven, the majority of Muslims believe that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven and is alive. Some Muslim scholars maintain that Jesus was indeed put up on the cross, but did not die on it; rather, he revived and then ascended bodily to heaven. Others say that it was actually Judas Iscariot who was mistakenly crucified by the Romans. Regardless, Muslims believe that Jesus is alive in heaven and will return to the world in the flesh to defeat the Antichrist, once the world has become filled with sin, deception and injustice, and then live out the rest of his natural life.[24]

Islam rejects the Trinitarian Christian view that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, that he was ever crucified or resurrected or that he ever atoned for the sins of mankind. The Quran says that Jesus himself, when asked by God if he said that people shall regard him and Mary as gods, will deny this.[Quran 5:116]

Judaism edit

Judaism rejects the idea of Jesus being God, or a person of a Trinity, or a mediator to God. Judaism also holds that Jesus is not the Messiah, arguing that he had not fulfilled the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal qualifications of the Messiah. According to Jewish tradition, there were no more prophets after Malachi, who lived centuries before Jesus and delivered his prophesies about 420 BC/BCE.[33]

According to Conservative Judaism, Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah have "crossed the line out of the Jewish community".[34] Reform Judaism, the modern progressive movement, states "For us in the Jewish community anyone who claims that Jesus is their savior is no longer a Jew and is an apostate".[35]

Jesus in Jewish writings edit

The Babylonian Talmud include stories of Yeshu יֵשׁוּ; the vast majority of contemporary historians disregard these as sources on the historical Jesus.[36] Contemporary Talmud scholars view these as comments on the relationship between Judaism and Christians or other sectarians, rather than comments on the historical Jesus.[37][38]

The Mishneh Torah, an authoritative work of Jewish law, states in Hilkhot Melakhim 11:10–12 that Jesus is a "stumbling block" who makes "the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God".

Even Jesus the Nazarene who imagined that he would be Messiah and was killed by the court, was already prophesied by Daniel. So that it was said, "And the members of the outlaws of your nation would be carried to make a (prophetic) vision stand. And they stumbled."[39] Because, is there a greater stumbling-block than this one? So that all of the prophets spoke that the Messiah redeems Israel, and saves them, and gathers their banished ones, and strengthens their commandments. And this one caused (nations) to destroy Israel by sword, and to scatter their remnant, and to humiliate them, and to exchange the Torah, and to make the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God. However, the thoughts of the Creator of the world — there is no force in a human to attain them because our ways are not God's ways, and our thoughts not God's thoughts. And all these things of Jesus the Nazarene, and of (Muhammad) the Ishmaelite who stood after him — there is no (purpose) but to straighten out the way for the King Messiah, and to restore all the world to serve God together. So that it is said, "Because then I will turn toward the nations (giving them) a clear lip, to call all of them in the name of God and to serve God (shoulder to shoulder as) one shoulder."[40] Look how all the world already becomes full of the things of the Messiah, and the things of the Torah, and the things of the commandments! And these things spread among the far islands and among the many nations uncircumcised of heart.[41]

Baháʼí Faith edit

The Baháʼí Faith consider Jesus to be a manifestation of God, who are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization.[42] In Baháʼí belief, the Manifestations have always been sent by God, and always will, as part of the single progressive religion from God bringing more teachings through time to help humanity progress.[43] The Manifestations of God are taught to be "one and the same", and in their relationship to one another have both the station of unity and the station of distinction.[42] In this way each Manifestation of God manifested the Word of God and taught the same religion, with modifications for the particular audience's needs and culture. Bahá'u'lláh wrote that since each Manifestation of God has the same divine attributes, they can be seen as the spiritual "return" of all the previous Manifestations of God.[42] In this way, Baháʼís believe that Bahá'u'lláh is, in both respects, the return of Jesus.

Druze Faith edit

 
The Druze maqam of Al-masih (Jesus) in As-Suwayda Governorate.

In the Druze faith, Jesus is considered one of God's important prophets and the Messiah,[44][45] being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.[46][47] The Druze venerate Jesus "the son of Joseph and Mary" and his four disciples, who wrote the Gospels.[48] In the Druze tradition, Jesus is known under three titles: the True Messiah (al-Masih al-Haq), the Messiah of all Nations (Masih al-Umam), and the Messiah of Sinners. This is due, respectively, to the belief that Jesus delivered the true Gospel message, the belief that he was the Saviour of all nations, and the belief that he offers forgiveness.[49]

According to the Druze manuscripts Jesus is the Greatest Imam and the incarnation of Ultimate Reason (Akl) on earth and the first cosmic principle (Hadd),[48] and regards Jesus and Hamza ibn Ali as the incarnations of one of the five great celestial powers, who form part of their system.[50] Druze believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of Jesus,[51] and that Hamza ibn Ali is the true Messiah, who directed the deeds of the messiah Jesus "the son of Joseph and Mary", but when Jesus "the son of Joseph and Mary" strayed from the path of the true Messiah, Hamza filled the hearts of the Jews with hatred for him - and for that reason, they crucified him, according to the Druze manuscripts.[48][52] Despite this, Hamza ibn Ali took him down from the cross and allowed him to return to his family, in order to prepare men for the preaching of his religion.[48]

In an epistle ascribed to one of the founders of Druzism, Baha al-Din al-Muqtana,[53] probably written sometime between AD 1027 and AD 1042, accused the Jews of crucifying Jesus.[54]

Other edit

Traditionally, Buddhists as a group take no particular view on Jesus, and Buddhism and Christianity have but a minor intersection. However, some scholars have noted similarities between the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha and Jesus. These similarities might be attributed to Buddhist missionaries sent as early as Emperor Ashoka around 250 BCE in many of the Greek Seleucid kingdoms that existed then and then later became the same regions in which Christianity began.[55]

Jesus was seen as the saviour and bringer of gnosis by various Gnostic sects, such as the quasi-extinct Manichaeism.

The Vietnamese syncretic religion Cao Dai locates Jesus in the celestial Council of Great Spirits that directs the universe.[56]

In the Ahmadiyya Islamic view, Jesus survived the crucifixion and later travelled to India, where he lived as a prophet (and died) under the name of Yuz Asaf.

According to The Urantia Book, Jesus was one of numerous sons of God named Michael of Nebadon, who took on earthly incarnation.[57]

In Raëlism, Jesus and several other religious figures are considered prophets sent by an extraterrestrial race called the Elohim.[58][59]

The Religious Science movement considers Jesus to be a teacher of “Science of Mind”.[58][60]

The Lacandon people of Central America acknowledge Äkyantho', the god of foreigners. He has a son named Hesuklistos (Jesus Christ) who is supposed to be the god of the foreigners. They recognize that Hesuklistos is a god but do not feel he is worthy of worship as he is a minor god.[61]

Among the Malbars of the French island Réunion, a syncretism of Catholicism and Hinduism can develop. Krishna Janmashtami, the birth day of Krishna is considered to be the date of birth of Jesus Christ. [62]

Unlike other religions, Hinduism has no established set of beliefs and thus no universal or common view of Jesus. However, a lot of Hindus, including religious and political leaders, tend to variously venerate Jesus as either a Āchārya, Sadhu or Avatar.[63][64][65] Some Hindus and Hare Krishnas also claim that Jesus was predicted or prophesied in the scripture Bhavishya Purana.[66]


See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b The Blackwell Companion to Jesus edited by Delbert Burkett 2010 ISBN 1-4051-9362-X page 1 [1]
  2. ^ The Cambridge companion to Jesus edited by Markus N. A. Bockmuehl 2001 ISBN 0-521-79678-4 pages 156-157
  3. ^ The historical Christ and the Jesus of faith by C. Stephen Evans 1996, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-826397-X page v
  4. ^ Bauckham, Richard (2011). Jesus: A Very Short Introduction. United States: Oxford University Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0199575275.
  5. ^ a b Oxford Companion to the Bible p.649
  6. ^ a b The Christology of Anselm of Canterbury by Dániel Deme 2004 ISBN 0-7546-3779-4 pages 199-200
  7. ^ a b The Christology of the New Testament by Oscar Cullmann 1959 ISBN 0-664-24351-7 page 79
  8. ^ Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37. ISBN 9781465546623.
  9. ^ Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17. ISBN 9781903900369.
  10. ^ Schreiner, Thomas R. (2008). New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ. Baker Academic. pp. 23–37. ISBN 978-0-8010-2680-5.
  11. ^ Jackson, Gregory L. (1993). Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant: a doctrinal comparison. Christian News. pp. 11–17. ISBN 978-0-615-16635-3.
  12. ^ One teacher: Jesus' teaching role in Matthew's gospel by John Yueh-Han Yieh 2004 ISBN 3-11-018151-7 pages 240-241
  13. ^ Systematic Theology, Volume 2 by Wolfhart Pannenberg 2004 0567084663 ISBN pages 297-303
  14. ^ a b Essays in New Testament interpretation by Charles Francis Digby Moule 1982 ISBN 0-521-23783-1 page 63
  15. ^ The Melody of Faith: Theology in an Orthodox Key by Vigen Guroian 2010 ISBN 0-8028-6496-1 page 28
  16. ^ a b Scripture in tradition by John Breck 2001 ISBN 0-88141-226-0 page 12
  17. ^ The Bible Knowledge Commentary by John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck 1983 ISBN 0-88207-812-7 page 100
  18. ^ The words and works of Jesus Christ by J. Dwight Pentecost 2000 ISBN 978-0-310-30940-6 page 212
  19. ^ Outlines of dogmatic theology, Volume 2 by Sylvester Hunter 2010 ISBN 1-146-98633-5 page 443
  20. ^ a b Jesus: the complete guide by Leslie Houlden 2006 ISBN 0-8264-8011-X page 426
  21. ^ Acts 2:24, Romans 10:9, 1Cor 15:15, Acts 2:31–32, 3:15, 3:26, 4:10, 5:30, 10:40–41, 13:30, 13:34, 13:37, 17:30–31, 1Cor 6:14, 2Cor 4:14, Gal 1:1, Eph 1:20, Col 2:12, 1Thess 1:10, Heb 13:20, 1Pet 1:3, 1:21
  22. ^ Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Acts 2:33, 5:31, 7:55–56, Romans 8:34, Eph 1:20, Col 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, 1:13, 10:12, 12:2, 1Peter 3:22
  23. ^ cf. John 14:1–3, Acts 1:10–11, Luke 21:27, Revelation 1:7
  24. ^ a b Glassé, Cyril (2008). Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 270–271. ISBN 978-0-7425-6296-7.
  25. ^ Esposito, John L. (2003). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-19-975726-8.
  26. ^ Aboul-Enein, Youssef H. (2010). Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat. Naval Institute Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-61251-015-6.
  27. ^ Fasching, Darrell J.; deChant, Dell (2001). Comparative Religious Ethics: A Narrative Approach. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 241, 274–275. ISBN 978-0-631-20125-0.
  28. ^ Annemarie Schimmel (1975). Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill:University of North Carolina Press. p. 202.
  29. ^ Paget, James C. (2001). "Quests for the historical Jesus". In Bockmuehl, Markus N. A. (ed.). Cambridge companion to Jesus. Cambridge University Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-521-79678-1.
  30. ^ Esposito, John. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam. New York: University Press, 2002. P31.
  31. ^ Morgan, Diane (2010). Essential Islam: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice. ABC-CLIO. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-0-313-36025-1.
  32. ^ Quran 19:27-33
  33. ^ Simmons, Shraga, "Why Jews Do not Believe in Jesus", Retrieved April 15, 2007; "Why Jews Do not Believe in Jesus", Ohr Samayach — Ask the Rabbi, Retrieved April 15, 2007; "Why do not Jews believe that Jesus was the Messiah?", AskMoses.com, Retrieved April 15, 2007
  34. ^ Waxman, Jonathan (2006). . United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2008. Judaism has held that the Mashiach will come and usher in a new era; not that he will proclaim his arrival, die and wait centuries to finish his task. To continue to assert that Jesus was the Mashiach goes against the belief that the Mashiach will transform the world when he does come, not merely hint at a future transformation at some undefined time to come... Judaism rejects the claim that a new covenant was created with Jesus and asserts instead that the chain of Tradition reaching back to Moshe continues to make valid claims on our lives, and serve as more than mere window dressing.
  35. ^ Contemporary American Reform Responsa, #68, "Question 18.3.4: Reform's Position On...What is unacceptable practice?", faqs.org. Retrieved April 15, 2007.
  36. ^ Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition)
  37. ^ Daniel Boyarin, Dying for God: Martyrdom and the Making of Christianity and Judaism Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999
  38. ^ Jeffrey Rubenstein Rabbinic Stories (The Classics of Western Spirituality) New York: The Paulist Press, 2002
  39. ^ Dan. 11:14
  40. ^ Zeph. 3:9
  41. ^ Hilchot Malachim (laws concerning kings) (Hebrew)", MechonMamre.org, Retrieved April 15, 2007
  42. ^ a b c Cole, Juan (1982). "The Concept of Manifestation in the Baháʼí Writings". Études Baháʼí Studies. monograph 9: 1–38 – via Bahá'í Library Online.
  43. ^ Smith, Peter (2000). "Progressive revelation". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 276–277. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
  44. ^ Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37. ISBN 9781465546623.
  45. ^ Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17. ISBN 9781903900369.
  46. ^ Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37. ISBN 9781465546623.
  47. ^ Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17. ISBN 9781903900369.
  48. ^ a b c d Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-903900-36-9.
  49. ^ Swayd, Samy (2019). The A to Z of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 88. ISBN 9780810870024. Jesus is known in the Druze tradition as the "True Messiah" (al-Masih al-Haq), for he delivered what Druzes view as the true message. He is also referred to as the "Messiah of the Nations" (Masih al-Umam) because he was sent to the world as "Masih of Sins" because he is the one who forgives.
  50. ^ Crone, Patricia (2013). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton University Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780691134840.
  51. ^ S. Sorenson, David (2008). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Routledge. p. 239. ISBN 9780429975042. They further believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of many prophets, including Christ, Plato, Aristotle.
  52. ^ Massignon, Louis (2019). The Passion of Al-Hallaj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam, Volume 1: The Life of Al-Hallaj. Princeton University Press. p. 594. ISBN 9780691610832.
  53. ^ Nettler, Ronald (2014). Muslim-Jewish Encounters. Routledge. p. 140. ISBN 9781134408542. ...One example of Druze anti—Jewish bias is contained in an epistle ascribed to one of the founders of Druzism, Baha al-Din
  54. ^ L. Rogan, Eugene (2011). The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780521794763.
  55. ^ Old World Encounters. Cross-cultural contacts and exchanges in pre-modern times" by Jerry H.Bentley (Oxford University Press, 1993) ISBN 0-19-507639-7
  56. ^ Blagov, Serguei A. (2001). "5: Caodaist Hierarchy and Ritials [sic]". Caodaism: Vietnamese Traditionalism and Its Leap Into Modernity. Nova Publishers. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-59033-150-7. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  57. ^ House, Wayne (2000). Charts of Cults, Sects and Religious Movements. Zondervan. p. 262. ISBN 9780310385516.
  58. ^ a b Hutson, Steven (2006). What They Never Taught You in Sunday School: A Fresh Look at Following Jesus. City Boy Enterprises. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-59886-300-0.
  59. ^ Beyer, Catherine. "Raelian Movement". About.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  60. ^ Ankerberg, John; Weldon, John. "What Does Religious Science Teach About Jesus?" (PDF). Ankerberg Theological Research Institute. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  61. ^ McGee, Jon (2002) "Watching Lacandon Maya Lives," Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
  62. ^ Suryanarayan, V. (2018-10-12). "Tamils In Re-Union: Losing Cultural Identity – Analysis". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  63. ^ "A Hindu's Jesus | Reform Magazine".
  64. ^ Wallace, J. Warner (2017-12-04). "Who Is Jesus, According to Other Religions? | Cold Case Christianity". coldcasechristianity.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  65. ^ Braun, Henrik (2023-05-01). "Was Jesus a Hindu avatar?". Medium. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  66. ^ Dāsa, Maitreya Ṛṣi (2021-01-13). "What do the Hare Krishnas think about Jesus Christ?". Hare Krishna London. Retrieved 2023-12-03.

Further reading edit

Slade, Darren M. (January 2014). (PDF). American Theological Inquiry. 7 (1): 43–53. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.

religious, perspectives, jesus, religious, perspectives, jesus, vary, among, world, religions, jesus, teachings, retelling, life, story, have, significantly, influenced, course, human, history, have, directly, indirectly, affected, lives, billions, people, inc. The religious perspectives on Jesus vary among world religions 1 Jesus teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of human history and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people including non Christians 1 2 3 He is considered by many to be one of the most influential persons to have ever lived finding a significant place in numerous cultural contexts 4 In Christianity Jesus is the Messiah Christ foretold in the Old Testament and the Son of God Christians believe that through his death and resurrection humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life 5 These beliefs emphasize that as the willing Lamb of God Jesus chose to suffer in Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his Father as an agent and servant of God 6 7 Christians view Jesus as a role model whose God focused life believers are encouraged to imitate In Islam Jesus commonly transliterated as Isa is the Messiah and one of God s highest ranked and most beloved prophets Islam considers Jesus to be neither the incarnation nor the Son of God He is referred to as the son of Mary in the Qu ran Islamic texts emphasize a strict affirmation of monotheism tawhid and forbid the association of partners with God which would be idolatry shirk In the Druze faith Jesus is considered one of God s important prophets and the Messiah 8 9 The Bahaʼi Faith considers Jesus to be one of many manifestations of God who are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world Bahaʼis reject the idea that divinity was contained with a single human body Apart from his own disciples and followers the Jews of Jesus day generally rejected him as the Messiah as do the great majority of Jews today Mainstream Jewish scholars argue that Jesus neither fulfilled the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal qualifications of the Messiah Sikhism views Jesus as a high ranked Holy man or saint Other world religions such as Buddhism have no particular view on Jesus and have but a minor intersection with Christianity For non religious perspectives on Jesus see historical Jesus Contents 1 Christianity 1 1 Incarnation 2 Islam 3 Judaism 3 1 Jesus in Jewish writings 4 Bahaʼi Faith 5 Druze Faith 6 Other 7 See also 8 References 9 Further readingChristianity editMain article Jesus in Christianity See also Ministry of Jesus Parables of Jesus Miracles of Jesus and Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament Christian views of Jesus are based on the teachings and beliefs as outlined in the Canonical gospels New Testament letters the Christian creeds as well as specific denominational teachings These documents outline the key beliefs held by Christians about Jesus including his divinity humanity and earthly life and that he is the Christ and the Son of God 10 Although Christian views of Jesus vary it is possible to summarize the key beliefs shared among major denominations as stated in their catechetical or confessional texts 11 Generally speaking adhering to the Christian faith requires a belief that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah or Christ Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God in the New Testament 12 Christians consider Jesus to be the Messiah Christ and believe that through his death and resurrection humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life 5 These teachings emphasize that as the willing Lamb of God Jesus chose to suffer in Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his Father as an agent and servant of God 6 7 The choice Jesus made thus counter positions him as a new man of morality and obedience in contrast to Adam s disobedience 13 The five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus are his Baptism Transfiguration Crucifixion Resurrection and Ascension 14 15 16 These are usually bracketed by two other episodes his Nativity at the beginning and the sending of the Paraclete at the end 14 16 The gospel accounts of the teachings of Jesus are often presented in terms of specific categories involving his works and words e g his ministry parables and miracles 17 18 The words of Jesus include several sermons in addition to parables that appear throughout the narrative of the Synoptic Gospels the gospel of John includes no parables Christians not only attach theological significance to the works of Jesus but also to his name Devotions to the Holy Name of Jesus go back to the earliest days of Christianity 19 20 These devotions and feasts exist both in Eastern and Western Christianity 20 Incarnation edit Further information Incarnation Christianity and Christology Most Christians believe that Jesus was both human and the Son of God While there have been theological debate over the nature of Jesus Trinitarian Christians generally believe that Jesus is God incarnate God the Son and true God and true man or both fully divine and fully human Jesus having become fully human in all respects suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man yet he did not sin As fully God he defeated death and rose to life again According to the Bible God raised him from the dead 21 He ascended to heaven to the right hand of God 22 and he will return again for the Last Judgment and the establishment of the Kingdom of God 23 Islam editMain article Jesus in Islam See also Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam In Islam Jesus Isa is considered to be a messenger of God Allah and the Messiah al Masih who was sent to guide the Descendants of Israel Bani Isra il with a new scripture the Gospel Injil 24 25 The Quran mentions Jesus by name 25 times more often than Muhammad 26 and emphasises that Jesus was a mortal human who like all other prophets had been divinely chosen to spread God s message 27 Unlike Christian writings the Quran does not describe Jesus as the son of God but as one of four major human messengers out of many prophets sent by God throughout history to guide mankind 28 Jesus is said to have lived a life of piety and generosity and abstained from eating flesh of swine Muslims also believe that Jesus received a Gospel from God called the Injil However Muslims hold that Jesus original message was lost or altered and that the Christian New Testament does not accurately represent God s original message to mankind 29 Despite major differences the Quran and New Testament overlap in other aspects of Jesus life both Muslims and Christians believe that Jesus was miraculously born without a human biological father by the will of God and that his mother Mary Maryam in Arabic is among the most saintly pious chaste and virtuous women ever 30 The Quran also specifies that Jesus was able to perform miracles though only by the will of God including being able to raise the dead restore sight to the blind and cure lepers 31 One miracle attributed to Jesus in the Quran but not in the New Testament is his being able to speak at only a few days old to defend his mother from accusations of adultery 32 It also says that Jesus was a word from God since he was predicted to come in the Old Testament Most Muslims believe that he was neither killed nor crucified but that God made it appear so to his enemies With the noteworthy exception of Ahmadi Muslims who believe that Jesus was indeed put on the cross survived the crucifixion and was not lifted bodily to the heaven the majority of Muslims believe that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven and is alive Some Muslim scholars maintain that Jesus was indeed put up on the cross but did not die on it rather he revived and then ascended bodily to heaven Others say that it was actually Judas Iscariot who was mistakenly crucified by the Romans Regardless Muslims believe that Jesus is alive in heaven and will return to the world in the flesh to defeat the Antichrist once the world has become filled with sin deception and injustice and then live out the rest of his natural life 24 Islam rejects the Trinitarian Christian view that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God that he was ever crucified or resurrected or that he ever atoned for the sins of mankind The Quran says that Jesus himself when asked by God if he said that people shall regard him and Mary as gods will deny this Quran 5 116 Judaism editMain article Judaism s view of Jesus Judaism rejects the idea of Jesus being God or a person of a Trinity or a mediator to God Judaism also holds that Jesus is not the Messiah arguing that he had not fulfilled the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal qualifications of the Messiah According to Jewish tradition there were no more prophets after Malachi who lived centuries before Jesus and delivered his prophesies about 420 BC BCE 33 According to Conservative Judaism Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah have crossed the line out of the Jewish community 34 Reform Judaism the modern progressive movement states For us in the Jewish community anyone who claims that Jesus is their savior is no longer a Jew and is an apostate 35 Jesus in Jewish writings edit See also Jesus in the Talmud The Babylonian Talmud include stories of Yeshu י ש ו the vast majority of contemporary historians disregard these as sources on the historical Jesus 36 Contemporary Talmud scholars view these as comments on the relationship between Judaism and Christians or other sectarians rather than comments on the historical Jesus 37 38 The Mishneh Torah an authoritative work of Jewish law states in Hilkhot Melakhim 11 10 12 that Jesus is a stumbling block who makes the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God Even Jesus the Nazarene who imagined that he would be Messiah and was killed by the court was already prophesied by Daniel So that it was said And the members of the outlaws of your nation would be carried to make a prophetic vision stand And they stumbled 39 Because is there a greater stumbling block than this one So that all of the prophets spoke that the Messiah redeems Israel and saves them and gathers their banished ones and strengthens their commandments And this one caused nations to destroy Israel by sword and to scatter their remnant and to humiliate them and to exchange the Torah and to make the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God However the thoughts of the Creator of the world there is no force in a human to attain them because our ways are not God s ways and our thoughts not God s thoughts And all these things of Jesus the Nazarene and of Muhammad the Ishmaelite who stood after him there is no purpose but to straighten out the way for the King Messiah and to restore all the world to serve God together So that it is said Because then I will turn toward the nations giving them a clear lip to call all of them in the name of God and to serve God shoulder to shoulder as one shoulder 40 Look how all the world already becomes full of the things of the Messiah and the things of the Torah and the things of the commandments And these things spread among the far islands and among the many nations uncircumcised of heart 41 Bahaʼi Faith editThe Bahaʼi Faith consider Jesus to be a manifestation of God who are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization 42 In Bahaʼi belief the Manifestations have always been sent by God and always will as part of the single progressive religion from God bringing more teachings through time to help humanity progress 43 The Manifestations of God are taught to be one and the same and in their relationship to one another have both the station of unity and the station of distinction 42 In this way each Manifestation of God manifested the Word of God and taught the same religion with modifications for the particular audience s needs and culture Baha u llah wrote that since each Manifestation of God has the same divine attributes they can be seen as the spiritual return of all the previous Manifestations of God 42 In this way Bahaʼis believe that Baha u llah is in both respects the return of Jesus Druze Faith edit nbsp The Druze maqam of Al masih Jesus in As Suwayda Governorate In the Druze faith Jesus is considered one of God s important prophets and the Messiah 44 45 being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history 46 47 The Druze venerate Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary and his four disciples who wrote the Gospels 48 In the Druze tradition Jesus is known under three titles the True Messiah al Masih al Haq the Messiah of all Nations Masih al Umam and the Messiah of Sinners This is due respectively to the belief that Jesus delivered the true Gospel message the belief that he was the Saviour of all nations and the belief that he offers forgiveness 49 According to the Druze manuscripts Jesus is the Greatest Imam and the incarnation of Ultimate Reason Akl on earth and the first cosmic principle Hadd 48 and regards Jesus and Hamza ibn Ali as the incarnations of one of the five great celestial powers who form part of their system 50 Druze believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of Jesus 51 and that Hamza ibn Ali is the true Messiah who directed the deeds of the messiah Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary but when Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary strayed from the path of the true Messiah Hamza filled the hearts of the Jews with hatred for him and for that reason they crucified him according to the Druze manuscripts 48 52 Despite this Hamza ibn Ali took him down from the cross and allowed him to return to his family in order to prepare men for the preaching of his religion 48 In an epistle ascribed to one of the founders of Druzism Baha al Din al Muqtana 53 probably written sometime between AD 1027 and AD 1042 accused the Jews of crucifying Jesus 54 Other editTraditionally Buddhists as a group take no particular view on Jesus and Buddhism and Christianity have but a minor intersection However some scholars have noted similarities between the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha and Jesus These similarities might be attributed to Buddhist missionaries sent as early as Emperor Ashoka around 250 BCE in many of the Greek Seleucid kingdoms that existed then and then later became the same regions in which Christianity began 55 Jesus was seen as the saviour and bringer of gnosis by various Gnostic sects such as the quasi extinct Manichaeism The Vietnamese syncretic religion Cao Dai locates Jesus in the celestial Council of Great Spirits that directs the universe 56 In the Ahmadiyya Islamic view Jesus survived the crucifixion and later travelled to India where he lived as a prophet and died under the name of Yuz Asaf According to The Urantia Book Jesus was one of numerous sons of God named Michael of Nebadon who took on earthly incarnation 57 In Raelism Jesus and several other religious figures are considered prophets sent by an extraterrestrial race called the Elohim 58 59 The Religious Science movement considers Jesus to be a teacher of Science of Mind 58 60 The Lacandon people of Central America acknowledge Akyantho the god of foreigners He has a son named Hesuklistos Jesus Christ who is supposed to be the god of the foreigners They recognize that Hesuklistos is a god but do not feel he is worthy of worship as he is a minor god 61 Among the Malbars of the French island Reunion a syncretism of Catholicism and Hinduism can develop Krishna Janmashtami the birth day of Krishna is considered to be the date of birth of Jesus Christ 62 Unlike other religions Hinduism has no established set of beliefs and thus no universal or common view of Jesus However a lot of Hindus including religious and political leaders tend to variously venerate Jesus as either a Acharya Sadhu or Avatar 63 64 65 Some Hindus and Hare Krishnas also claim that Jesus was predicted or prophesied in the scripture Bhavishya Purana 66 See also editChristianity and world religions Life of Jesus in the New Testament Master JesusReferences edit a b The Blackwell Companion to Jesus edited by Delbert Burkett 2010 ISBN 1 4051 9362 X page 1 1 The Cambridge companion to Jesus edited by Markus N A Bockmuehl 2001 ISBN 0 521 79678 4 pages 156 157 The historical Christ and the Jesus of faith by C Stephen Evans 1996 Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 826397 X page v Bauckham Richard 2011 Jesus A Very Short Introduction United States Oxford University Press pp 1 2 ISBN 978 0199575275 a b Oxford Companion to the Bible p 649 a b The Christology of Anselm of Canterbury by Daniel Deme 2004 ISBN 0 7546 3779 4 pages 199 200 a b The Christology of the New Testament by Oscar Cullmann 1959 ISBN 0 664 24351 7 page 79 Hitti Philip K 1928 The Origins of the Druze People and Religion With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings Library of Alexandria p 37 ISBN 9781465546623 Dana Nissim 2008 The Druze in the Middle East Their Faith Leadership Identity and Status Michigan University press p 17 ISBN 9781903900369 Schreiner Thomas R 2008 New Testament Theology Magnifying God in Christ Baker Academic pp 23 37 ISBN 978 0 8010 2680 5 Jackson Gregory L 1993 Catholic Lutheran Protestant a doctrinal comparison Christian News pp 11 17 ISBN 978 0 615 16635 3 One teacher Jesus teaching role in Matthew s gospel by John Yueh Han Yieh 2004 ISBN 3 11 018151 7 pages 240 241 Systematic Theology Volume 2 by Wolfhart Pannenberg 2004 0567084663 ISBN pages 297 303 a b Essays in New Testament interpretation by Charles Francis Digby Moule 1982 ISBN 0 521 23783 1 page 63 The Melody of Faith Theology in an Orthodox Key by Vigen Guroian 2010 ISBN 0 8028 6496 1 page 28 a b Scripture in tradition by John Breck 2001 ISBN 0 88141 226 0 page 12 The Bible Knowledge Commentary by John F Walvoord Roy B Zuck 1983 ISBN 0 88207 812 7 page 100 The words and works of Jesus Christ by J Dwight Pentecost 2000 ISBN 978 0 310 30940 6 page 212 Outlines of dogmatic theology Volume 2 by Sylvester Hunter 2010 ISBN 1 146 98633 5 page 443 a b Jesus the complete guide by Leslie Houlden 2006 ISBN 0 8264 8011 X page 426 Acts 2 24 Romans 10 9 1Cor 15 15 Acts 2 31 32 3 15 3 26 4 10 5 30 10 40 41 13 30 13 34 13 37 17 30 31 1Cor 6 14 2Cor 4 14 Gal 1 1 Eph 1 20 Col 2 12 1Thess 1 10 Heb 13 20 1Pet 1 3 1 21 Mark 16 19 Luke 22 69 Acts 2 33 5 31 7 55 56 Romans 8 34 Eph 1 20 Col 3 1 Hebrews 1 3 1 13 10 12 12 2 1Peter 3 22 cf John 14 1 3 Acts 1 10 11 Luke 21 27 Revelation 1 7 a b Glasse Cyril 2008 Concise Encyclopedia of Islam Rowman amp Littlefield pp 270 271 ISBN 978 0 7425 6296 7 Esposito John L 2003 The Oxford Dictionary of Islam Oxford University Press p 158 ISBN 978 0 19 975726 8 Aboul Enein Youssef H 2010 Militant Islamist Ideology Understanding the Global Threat Naval Institute Press p 20 ISBN 978 1 61251 015 6 Fasching Darrell J deChant Dell 2001 Comparative Religious Ethics A Narrative Approach John Wiley amp Sons pp 241 274 275 ISBN 978 0 631 20125 0 Annemarie Schimmel 1975 Mystical Dimensions of Islam Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press p 202 Paget James C 2001 Quests for the historical Jesus In Bockmuehl Markus N A ed Cambridge companion to Jesus Cambridge University Press p 183 ISBN 978 0 521 79678 1 Esposito John What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam New York University Press 2002 P31 Morgan Diane 2010 Essential Islam A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice ABC CLIO pp 45 46 ISBN 978 0 313 36025 1 Quran 19 27 33 Simmons Shraga Why Jews Do not Believe in Jesus Retrieved April 15 2007 Why Jews Do not Believe in Jesus Ohr Samayach Ask the Rabbi Retrieved April 15 2007 Why do not Jews believe that Jesus was the Messiah AskMoses com Retrieved April 15 2007 Waxman Jonathan 2006 Messianic Jews Are Not Jews United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Archived from the original on January 9 2008 Retrieved January 15 2008 Judaism has held that the Mashiach will come and usher in a new era not that he will proclaim his arrival die and wait centuries to finish his task To continue to assert that Jesus was the Mashiach goes against the belief that the Mashiach will transform the world when he does come not merely hint at a future transformation at some undefined time to come Judaism rejects the claim that a new covenant was created with Jesus and asserts instead that the chain of Tradition reaching back to Moshe continues to make valid claims on our lives and serve as more than mere window dressing Contemporary American Reform Responsa 68 Question 18 3 4 Reform s Position On What is unacceptable practice faqs org Retrieved April 15 2007 Theissen Gerd and Annette Merz The historical Jesus a comprehensive guide Fortress Press 1998 translated from German 1996 edition Daniel Boyarin Dying for God Martyrdom and the Making of Christianity and Judaism Stanford Stanford University Press 1999 Jeffrey Rubenstein Rabbinic Stories The Classics of Western Spirituality New York The Paulist Press 2002 Dan 11 14 Zeph 3 9 Hilchot Malachim laws concerning kings Hebrew MechonMamre org Retrieved April 15 2007 a b c Cole Juan 1982 The Concept of Manifestation in the Bahaʼi Writings Etudes Bahaʼi Studies monograph 9 1 38 via Baha i Library Online Smith Peter 2000 Progressive revelation A concise encyclopedia of the Baha i Faith Oxford Oneworld Publications pp 276 277 ISBN 1 85168 184 1 Hitti Philip K 1928 The Origins of the Druze People and Religion With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings Library of Alexandria p 37 ISBN 9781465546623 Dana Nissim 2008 The Druze in the Middle East Their Faith Leadership Identity and Status Michigan University press p 17 ISBN 9781903900369 Hitti Philip K 1928 The Origins of the Druze People and Religion With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings Library of Alexandria p 37 ISBN 9781465546623 Dana Nissim 2008 The Druze in the Middle East Their Faith Leadership Identity and Status Michigan University press p 17 ISBN 9781903900369 a b c d Dana Nissim 2008 The Druze in the Middle East Their Faith Leadership Identity and Status Michigan University press p 47 ISBN 978 1 903900 36 9 Swayd Samy 2019 The A to Z of the Druzes Rowman amp Littlefield p 88 ISBN 9780810870024 Jesus is known in the Druze tradition as the True Messiah al Masih al Haq for he delivered what Druzes view as the true message He is also referred to as the Messiah of the Nations Masih al Umam because he was sent to the world as Masih of Sins because he is the one who forgives Crone Patricia 2013 The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought Princeton University Press p 139 ISBN 9780691134840 S Sorenson David 2008 The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought Routledge p 239 ISBN 9780429975042 They further believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of many prophets including Christ Plato Aristotle Massignon Louis 2019 The Passion of Al Hallaj Mystic and Martyr of Islam Volume 1 The Life of Al Hallaj Princeton University Press p 594 ISBN 9780691610832 Nettler Ronald 2014 Muslim Jewish Encounters Routledge p 140 ISBN 9781134408542 One example of Druze anti Jewish bias is contained in an epistle ascribed to one of the founders of Druzism Baha al Din L Rogan Eugene 2011 The War for Palestine Rewriting the History of 1948 Cambridge University Press p 73 ISBN 9780521794763 Old World Encounters Cross cultural contacts and exchanges in pre modern times by Jerry H Bentley Oxford University Press 1993 ISBN 0 19 507639 7 Blagov Serguei A 2001 5 Caodaist Hierarchy and Ritials sic Caodaism Vietnamese Traditionalism and Its Leap Into Modernity Nova Publishers p 53 ISBN 978 1 59033 150 7 Retrieved 3 March 2021 House Wayne 2000 Charts of Cults Sects and Religious Movements Zondervan p 262 ISBN 9780310385516 a b Hutson Steven 2006 What They Never Taught You in Sunday School A Fresh Look at Following Jesus City Boy Enterprises p 57 ISBN 978 1 59886 300 0 Beyer Catherine Raelian Movement About com Retrieved June 13 2013 Ankerberg John Weldon John What Does Religious Science Teach About Jesus PDF Ankerberg Theological Research Institute Retrieved June 13 2013 McGee Jon 2002 Watching Lacandon Maya Lives Boston Allyn and Bacon Suryanarayan V 2018 10 12 Tamils In Re Union Losing Cultural Identity Analysis Eurasia Review Retrieved 2021 03 04 A Hindu s Jesus Reform Magazine Wallace J Warner 2017 12 04 Who Is Jesus According to Other Religions Cold Case Christianity coldcasechristianity com Retrieved 2023 12 03 Braun Henrik 2023 05 01 Was Jesus a Hindu avatar Medium Retrieved 2023 12 03 Dasa Maitreya Ṛṣi 2021 01 13 What do the Hare Krishnas think about Jesus Christ Hare Krishna London Retrieved 2023 12 03 Further reading editSlade Darren M January 2014 Arabia Haeresium Ferax Arabia Bearer of Heresies Schismatic Christianity s Potential Influence on Muhammad and the Qur an PDF American Theological Inquiry 7 1 43 53 Archived from the original on 2014 02 02 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Religious perspectives on Jesus amp oldid 1209952700, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.