Divinity of the Biblical Jesus Christ Peace be upon Him

A & B) I do indeed believe that God does not intend or will to save every individual. This is a common belief in many branches of Christian faith, particularly those in the Reformed tradition. This does not mean that God does not love other individuals, there are many common graces given to all people (The fact that they are still alive, namely) due to God's great love. My opponent claims that "arguing from Christ's silence is a very weak argument." That's interesting, since the primary thrust of my opponent's argument against Christ's divinity is "He never explicitly claimed to be divine," which in itself is an argument from silence. In regards to the use of the word "Father". My opponent is using the term "Father" as synonymous with "God." This is not the case. Rather, Jesus is talking about elevating people to positions they should not be elevated to, primarily elevating them above other people. We see this when we look at the context of the passage. Immediately prior to this Jesus tells the Pharisees not to call each other "Teacher" because they have one teacher (God). He then follows it up as saying "Do not call anyone father, for you have one Father (God)" He then follows it up by saying "Also, do not call each other Instructor, because you have one instructor... the Christ. So in this case, he is comparing HIMSELF to Teacher, Father, and Instructor. He is saying "Do not call elevate yourselves or another person to a place of primacy, for there is one who belongs in that place." And in answering the inevitable question "Who belongs in that place?" He answers "The Father and the Christ" who are one. C) In regards to the "leading Christian scholar" requested. Millard Erickson, in both his "Introducing Christian Doctrine [A]" and "Christian Theology [B]" argue that all scripture is equally inspired, equally authoritative, and equally infallible. Beyond that, neither Jesus nor the Father penned any of the documents in the Old or New Testament, so none of it is "the words of Jesus." Why would we trust John to accurately understand and report the words of Christ, but not to accurately understand and report theological premises. Beyond that, my opponent argues against Revelation as authoritative because it was a recorded vision... might I remind him that many religious texts (Including the Koran) are recorded instances of a vision. D & E) If God is unlimited as my opponent states, then is it not a limitation placed on him to say that he cannot self-limit himself? My opponent is arguing that God could not take on flesh by stating that if he has limitations he is not God. However, my opponent creates a line of circular reasoning by placing the limitation of unlimitedness on God. God can do whatever he pleases, if this includes choosing to refrain from exercising his own divine prerogative then so be it. If I choose not to walk, does it mean I am no longer capable of walking? If I choose not to talk, does it mean I am no longer capable of talking? Of course no, it simply means that for a time I am not doing so. Likewise, for a time God chose not to use his faculty of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Beyond that, we are not arguing about if the Trinity exists, the hypostatic union exists, or even if Christ was human. We are simply arguing if he was divine... the fact that there is a paradoxical relationship between his humanity and his divinity is irrelevant. I have no burden of proof to claim his humanity, so arguing that humanity and divinity cannot coexist is moot. In reference to Jesus denying himself to be good... this is an interpretive choice. It is equally valid to interpret the passage as an actual affirmation of Christ's divinity. Note that Christ does not say "I am not good, only God is good." He simply says "No one but God is good." It is equally possible that Christ is pointing out that only God is good, and since he is also good (he does NOT correct the young man) that he is indeed God. We see this by way of syllogism. A) Only God is Good, B) Jesus is Good, C) Jesus is God. In regard to always revealing himself. I would remind my opponent of the story of Pharaoh in the Old Testament. God explicitly hardened Pharaoh's heart against acknowledging him as God. Furthermore, Isaiah 45:15 writes "Truly, you re a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior." In fact, Jesus quotes Isaiah to explain why people do not recognize him for who he is (God), "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts." (John 12:40) Although opponent claims that it is logical that God would reveal himself to all people, the Bible clearly teaches to the contrary. In both the Old and New Testament we see a God who hides himself from some. I shall also conclude my debate with a summary In this debate my opponent has failed to recognize the following 3 points 1) Jesus is the fittest person in the Bible to confirm that he is God incarnate... and he does. My opponent has chosen to leave my passages unaddressed until a later round, I believe this is unwise but respect my opponent's choice to do so. However, at this point, I have asserted several biblical passages (Including the words of Christ) that indicate that the Bible does in fact teach that Jesus was and is Divine. 2) My opponent claims it is common sense for God to reveal himself explicitly. However, we see from scripture that God often times chooses to hide himself from people. Since God chooses to hide himself, why would we expect him to behave differently in the incarnation? 3) My opponent comments that arguing from Jesus' silence makes a weak argument. My opponent fails to see two flaws with this point. A) The bulk of his argument is an argument from silence (Jesus is silent about his claim to divinity, therefore there is no claim) and B) If Jesus does not correct someone who is worshiping him or calling him God... he is a horrible prophet, a despicable man, and we have a whole other host of problems. My opponent closes his argument by saying this "it is very clear if one who reads the Bible from an unbiased point of view, can find no clear, solid, irrefutable, undeniable evidence of Christ's (pbuh) divinity." However, I would like to assert exactly the opposite. I shall leave you with a verse from the Apostle Paul: "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells. [C]" That seems pretty straight forward to me. Thank you for reading. [A] http://www.amazon.com... [B] http://www.amazon.com... [C] Colossians 2:9