Non-Christian perspectives on Jesus
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Various non-Christian perspectives on Jesus recognize Jesus Christ as a historical, religious, and/or legendary figure.
- Arius thought that Jesus was a creation of God, i.e., he was not on the same level as the Father. His doctrine was condemned by the First Ecumenical Council in 325, but was very widespread during the 4th century until it was condemned again at the Second Ecumenical Council in 381.
- The Bahá'í Faith consider Jesus to be a manifestation of God. God is one and has manifested himself to humanity through several historic Messengers. Bahá'í's refer to the concept of "Progressive Revelation", which means that God's will is revealed to mankind progressively, as mankind matures and is better able to comprehend the purpose of God in creating humanity. In this view, God's word is revealed through a series of messengers: Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Bahá'u'lláh (the founder of the Bah'ai faith) among them. In the Book of Certitude, Bahá'u'lláh acknowledges that what these messengers say about themselves is inevitably true; thus, if Jesus claims divinity then this cannot be denied, since God is speaking through him. According to Baha'is there will not be another messenger for many hundreds of years.
- Some Buddhist teachings go as far as to describe Jesus as a Buddha, finding an equivalent of the Virgin Mary in Kwan Yin, a Chinese goddess.
- Some Gnostic sects believed that Jesus was an Aeon, an emanation of the One, original, unknowable God, who came to Earth to provide the gnosis (knowledge) necessary for humans to divest themselves of the physical world and return to the spiritual world. The Nag Hammadi Library of Gnostic texts discovered in 1945 is a deeply fascinating find for anyone interested in early Christianity and the spiritual teachings of Jesus.
- Hinduism is divided on the issue of Jesus. Some Hindus hold that he was just a man, if he existed at all. Others say he was a great guru and/or yogi. And some speculate that he visited India and studied Hinduism during the years of his life that are not accounted for in the Bible. Some Hindus go as far as to equate Jesus with an avatar (incarnation of God on earth), along with Rama and Krishna.
- The Urantia Book describes Jesus, his life and teachings as constituting the of Michael of Nebadon (Nebadon being the name of the sub-universe in which Earth subsists). Michael is in turn described as a Paradise Creator Son of God, an order of being which brings order and life to sub-universes, who, after seven bestowals as various orders of beings, becomes his universe's acknowledged chief executive. According to the Urantia Book, Jesus began life on earth through birth as any other human, but attained to mortal spiritual perfection by way of balanced growth and dedication to doing God's will. The book describes him teaching and living a religion of personal religious experience that includes for its followers salvation into an afterlife, followed by an ages-long growth-adventure culminating in Paradise attainment. The Urantia Book characterizes Jesus' gospel as the Parenthood ("Fatherhood") of God coupled with the siblinghood ("sonship") of all mankind.
Was Jesus married?
There has been controversial speculation over the years concerning whether Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. Some Gnostic traditions hold that this was so, though the Biblical Gospels make no mention of such a marriage. Some have countered that the Gospels also make no direct reference to Jesus remaining single, which, it can be argued, would have been noteworthy in a society in which marriage would have been expected. Several epistles of the New Testament describe Jesus as a bridegroom whose bride is the Church. The Urantia Book holds that Jesus was not married.
See also
