5. Jesus as the Son of God

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module we examine Jesus as the Son of God, focusing particularly on (i) two senses in which Jesus is traditionally viewed as Son of God: in his unity with the God the Father, and in his distinctiveness from God the Father (ii) the background of the term ‘Son of God’ in both Jewish and pagan history (iii) debates concerning a metaphorical conception of Jesus as Son of God vs. a metaphysical/ontological one, derived from the Synoptic Gospels (iv) the clarity of a metaphysical relationship between God the Father and the Son in the fourth canonical Gospel (v) the impact of the language of the New Testament and the history of western philosophy, in the development of Christian doctrine.

Course

In this course Dr James Carleton Paget (University of Cambridge) examines the identities associated with the person of Jesus. In the first module, we introduce the person of Jesus by providing some historical background, and assessing the nature of the documents containing accounts of Jesus. After that we look at Jesus’ authority, with special reference to precedent and the relationship between Jesus’ identity and his authority. In the third module, we examine the wisdom of Jesus by investigating the substance of his teaching. Then we discuss the idea of Jesus as a liberator - both a political liberator and liberator from evil, before moving on to examine Jesus as the Son of God. Finally, we take a look at Jesus’ uniqueness, in terms of his teaching, the hypostatic union, divine revelation and salvation.

Lecturer

James Carleton Paget is a lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University of Cambridge. His research interests are research interests in Jewish-Christian relations in antiquity, ancient Jewish Christianity, inter-testamental Judaism and the history of ancient biblical interpretation. His publications include Jews, Christians and Jewish Christians in Antiquity (2010) and The Epistle of Barnabas: Outlook and Background (1994)