Dr Paul Allen

  One of the fundamental points of Christian theology is the deity of Jesus Christ —the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the God of the Old Testament, born of a woman, living as a human being.  But Christ’s divinity does not mean that God was nowhere else when he lived on earth. Both God and Jesus simultaneously existed (as they had before Jesus was born). While on earth Jesus referred to God as “Father.” Consequently, Trinitarianism speaks of “God the Father” and “God the Son” (Jesus). The third person of this Trinity is the Holy Spirit. So even though Jesus is God, he is not the Father—hence the play on words: Jesus is God, but he isn’t God (the Father). Jesus is identified as God in several ways in the New Testament. Scripture describes him as having attributes and authority possessed only by God. John 1:1–2, 14 straightforwardly identifies Jesus as God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God....

It's easy for us to shield ourselves—not consciously, not maliciously—but nevertheless, to pass on the other side in order to remain unaware of the pain and the spiritual hopelessness that is around us. That was not the way of Jesus. He looked for the pain. He searched for lost people. That was the first step in redeeming them. Jesus gained a reputation for associating with those who were considered outcasts. Pariahs, undesirables, the unlovely of the Jewish culture—all these gathered around Jesus. This disturbed the Pharisees and scribes, the dignitaries and clergy of the day. They had adopted a tradition that taught salvation by segregation: keep yourself away from anyone who is involved in sin; that is how you can secure your own redemption. It was part of their working philosophy to isolate themselves from those who were sinners. Jesus came and defied that tradition by openly associating with the pariahs of the culture. It was on one of these occasions that the Pharisees b...