Jesus never claimed to be God.

Thanks for that post.I should remind my opponent that the comments are not part of the debate. They're comments about the debate. No rules were stated in the first round, and no extensive arguments were made, so I assumed it was an acceptance round.I'm not going to provide my supporting case, showing everywhere in the Gospels that Jesus claimed to be God, explain how the idea is Biblical and refute my opponent's case.1) In John 14:9 Jesus says, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?"Jesus literally equated himself with God in that statement. I don't see another way to interpret it.2) In John 8:58 Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!”No one can make that claim besides someone eternal (like God). And no one in the Bible besides God makes the claim "I am" as a form of identity.3) John 5:17-18 literally makes the statement that Jesus equated himself with God. "17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." Unless my opponent wants to argue that parts of the Bible are not true, this means that Jesus did claim equality with God, which would have to make Him God.4) Mark 2:5-7, 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”So Jesus claims the ability to forgive sins.Isaiah 43:25 25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.God is the only one who forgives sins, because humans forgiving sins is worthless other than like accepting an apology. But the term sin, which refers to an evil committed against each other, and by extension against God, is something only God can forgive. That's why it upset the Pharisees so much.5) Biblical importance of Jesus' divinityGod is eternal, and all sins, as I said, are sins against him. If a sin is against God, by extension, it must be an infinitely great sin. God wouldn't be bothered by something finite. So sins are infinitely applicable. The only way to be cleansed of your sins is through sacrifice, whereas God reappropriates your sin to someone or something innocent, like lambs in the old testament.In order for all of us to be saved, it must be true that an eternal and pure sacrifice was made. If Jesus is not eternal and pure, then his death and resurrection is literally meaningless. He's just a martyr who got brought back from the dead. In fact, most of the New Testament becomes meaningless. We must follow Levitical Law in order to be saved.Therefore, my opponent's position is actually very unbiblical.6) The doctrine of the trinityWhile the trinity isn't necessarily in question under the resolution, it is important for the topic to understand Jesus as God. Here's the best way to think of the trinity. The three parts are just God's three jobs. For example, Jesus was God's salvation to the world, God the Father is the creator and ruler of the universe, and the Holy Spirit is just God's guiding voice.None of these things imply that the doctrine of the trinity is implying three different Gods. All of them are the same God. They're definable as different persons, because they have distinctly different jobs and personalities associated with those jobs. However, that's not to say that those are not compatible in the same being who holds all of those personalites. It just makes sense to make the distinction in order to help us understand God better.Now onto my opponent's case:R1) Mark 14:53-65 55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. 57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree. 60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”Jesus claimed to be God right there. He didn't even just say "yes." He said "I am" as in "I am God."The Sanhedrin couldn't have convicted him if he said "No." He would've gone free and lived. Would Jesus have condemned himself to death for that claim if he wasn't actually God? It wouldn't make any sense.I don't know how much more clear you can get.So unless you believe that certain parts of the Bible are untrue, like extremely important verses that disagree with your personal belief about God, then you cannot say that Jesus never claimed to be God.R2) The rest of that is kind of irrelevant if my opponent is wrong. Right now, it kind of seems like he's wrong.Thank you for reading.