The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-02-03
THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST

! discussion DelnS Inc DlFlully Ol
Christ"
Most of those who addressed the
association agreed that Christ while
being the Divine Son of Cod, and a
member of the Trinity, emptied him
self of his divinity when he came upon
this earth, and therefore became a
mere man with mans natural pro
pensities, characteristics and limita
tions.
Several of the speakers present de
clared that the study of the life OF
Christ is robbed of part of its trans
cendant value by the fact that only
few realize this truth, the great ma
jority regarding Christ throughout
his existence on earth as being divine
and possessing all the powers Of di
vinity.
Following a paper read by Rev. AT
thur H. Gordon, pastor of the Ponce
de Leon Baptist church, on Mature
What 1t Taught Jesus and What lie
Taught About It." caused the follow
ing conoquy to take place
The Rev B. P. Robertson asked
Dr. Gordon the following questions:
DO you take the position that Je
sus was God manifested in The
fesh?'
yes"
'Ip becoming incarnare do you think
that he emptied himself Of his omnis-
cience?"
Eyes" answered Dr. Gordon i
think he had to learn to read. I don't
think that when a boy he knew how
to read or write"
Continuing Dr. Gordon said:
4 believe that Jesus emptied him
self of his divinity when he assumed
the form and nature of man. think
that he voluntarily gave up his ON
niscience and took to himself the linn
itations of a man, In my study of Je-
sus, of his character, his limitations,
his divinity, his emptying himself, |
have had a great deal of trouble. |
i know others of you have been troubled
too But 1 believe that if you will
/ get down to an earnest study of Jesus
you will find that he voluntarily emp
tied himself of the things that made
him different from men. believe
that after he came to this world he
had to learn just as other men do
that he had to gather knowledge #
the things of this world and of Jhe
next, with the same limitations cir
cumscribing him that circumscri5e
other men"
This leads us to a definition of he
Unitarian belief of Christ. President
Taft is a member of this church, and
among it's adherents are the names OF
men who occupy a conspicuous place
in the history of our country.
Perhaps the most distiRguis
member of this denomination wasSs
James Freeman Clarke of New HaNnp-
shire, who for a time was pastor Of
an Unitarian church at Louisville
KY, afterwards going to Boston.
Answering the question, why am I
Unitarian?" he said that because We
can say in the words of scripture:
THAT though there be called gods
many yet to us there is but one God,
4lo Iro+bo~ f,.ov,, vvb0r, no oil ri ocs
and we in him" If we are asked to
give our belief concerning Christ, we
can also express that belief in the
simple words of scripture: There is
one Lord and one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus; -
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you, by miracles and
wonders and signs which God did by
him in the midst of you, as We your
selves also know"
DR. Clark said that the New Tesla
lment nowhere teaches that there are
three subsistencies or three persons
in God. That it nowhere uses the
word Trinity at all, or Triad, or Tri
une in relation to Cod That it does
not say anywhere that the Father is
god and the Son is God and the Holy
Ghost is God; and yet there are not
three Gods but one God" That il
/ does not anywhere say that Christ is
: God the Son. the second person in the
} Trinity That it nowhere teaches that
: when Christ prayed TO God he was
praying to himself; that when he was
tempted ne was the being whom The
scriptures say cannot be tempted with
5 evil neither tempt any man; that
when he said Ny Father is greater
than l." he meant by that to state
that he was equal with God at any
time 1t does not so teach.
In this sermon DR.. Clarke said thai
! if all the creeds and all the teachings
in accordance with the creeds should
cease to exist, and if men should stud5
only the New Testament. it would he