Responding to Ahmed Deedat’s Books – Is Christ God?
The lecture addresses doctrinal responses to the objections found in the book “Is Christ God?”, clarifying the Orthodox Christian understanding of the nature of Christ and distinguishing between what is said about Him according to divinity and according to humanity.
Doctrinal Clarification
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III affirms that Christian faith is based on God being one in essence and triune in Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without partners or division in the divine nature. The Son is not a partner to the Father but is one with Him in essence.
Divinity and Humanity
The explanation emphasizes that Christ is “God manifested in the flesh,” meaning He has two natures, divine and human, united without confusion, mixture, or separation. Everything attributed to Him such as hunger, fatigue, growth, or submission to the Law is according to His human nature only.
Responding to Misunderstanding
The lecture responds to attempts to attribute human characteristics to divinity, such as lineage from David or Abraham, poverty, suffering, or death, explaining that all these belong to the flesh He assumed for the salvation of humanity, not to His eternal divinity.
Obedience to the Law, Not Need
It clarifies that Christ and the Virgin Mary’s submission to certain requirements of the Law was for fulfillment and obedience, not out of need or impurity, since the Incarnation occurred through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
Universal Message of Salvation
The lecture shows that Christ’s mission was not racist or limited to one people, but began gradually and then extended to all nations, affirming the universality of salvation and the call to faith for all humanity.
Spiritual Conclusion
The spiritual essence of the lecture is a call to proper understanding of the Person of Christ, avoiding confusion between His two natures, and believing that His weakness and suffering were for humanity’s salvation, while His divinity remains eternal and unchanging.
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