The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-06-15
POPULAR APoLoeETIcs.
Adapted from the German of Rev.
Peter Mikes, S. j., by Rev.
James Watcher.
So. Christ-Son of God.

uOGS,' IL means only an luedlF person,
highly gifted religiously Elevated,
standing in close relation to God, who
has the idea of the Fatherhood of
God and the unity with God, the
"Son-of-God-Ship highly developed
and has felt and lived it.
Christ was not the real Son of God
in the orthodox sense of the word
but an adopted son; the Goldman in
so far as God is known and appre-
hended in His Fatherhood.*
Answer: 1t takes an astonishing
amount of daring to make such
claims. The whole GospelN of st. John
says from the beginning to end:
Christ is true God, Gods only begot-
ten Son and at the, same time true
man Just because of the clearness
of this gospel our adversaries want
to cast suspicion on it. But that will
do them no good. For also the other
three Gospels teach the divinity of
Christ, His real divine sonship.
All three Evangelists describe the
court scene before Caiphas. Christ
stands before the Sanhedrin, the high
est judgment seat of the Jews, in re-
igious questions The question as to
the divinity of Christ is put clearly
and solemnly before the whole San
hedrin under a solemn oath: Il adj
jure thee by the living God, that thou
tell us if thou be the Christ the Son
of God. Jesus saith to him: Thou
hast said it (Which means: Yes).
Nevertheless | say to you, hereafter
you shall see the Son of Man sitting
on the right hand of the power of
God, and coming in the clouds of
heaven" (Matth. xXvi:6 SO, 64). A plain
and direct question receives a plain
and direct answer without any equivo-
cation.
The expression ito sit on the right
hand of the power of God" signified
among the Jews in general and also
among the rabies ito exercise the
highest ruling power like unto Cod;
the expression ito come in the clouds
of heaven" was used exclusively of
God.-In the vision of Daniel G:13,
14 the expression Son of Man"
leads necessarily to the divinity of
the Messiah. The text reads: II be-
held therefore in the vision of the
night, and 10, one like the son of man
came with the clouds of heaven, and
he came even to the ancients of days:
and they presented him before him.
And he gave him power, and glory,
and a kingdom: and all peoples and
tribes and tongues shall serve him:
his power is an everlasting power
that shall not be taken away: and his
kingdom that shall not be destroyed"
(Cf. job. B. Conr Zenner, S. j., in
the Innsbr Zeitschrift fuer katho-
lische Theologie, 1892, p $751;.
All the judges understood the dec
laration and reference to Daniel 7:13.
Hence the High Priest said: Behold
now you have heard the blasphemy:
what think your" And they unani-
mously answered.: HE is guilty of
DEATH None of the judges ever
thought of a non-literal sense of the
''Son of God" for in the non-literal
sense all the children of Israel con-
sidered themselves the sons of God.
This "blasphemy' the Jews declar-
ed on a former occasion saying: For
good work we stone thee not, but
for blasphemy, and because that thou,
being a man, makest myself Cod
John 1888.
If Christ had been the Son of God
only in a secondary, nonliteral sense,
how easily He could have saved Him
self by simple explanation! Nay,
lie would have had to explain, be-
cause as teacher of the truth He had
to tell the whole truth and as moral
man could not lie and give the scan
dial of an unheard of blasphemy.
Christ has therefore evidently called
Himself God and has proved this as
sertion by miracles.
Father Rob, S. j., (f1872) says:
eff we ask: Why was Christ cruel
fed? All Christians, Jews, Mahom
medans, heathens and all men, who
know anything about Christ, answer;
Christ was crucified because He claim
ed to be God, the Son of God, the
promised Messiah. That is a we'll
known fact
All Evangelists, Church Fathers
heretics and heathens say and write
this.
Of course that does not hinder that
a few liberal professors know it bet
ter and after 1900 years think out
that the belief in the divinity OF
Christ started LATER about the time Of
Irenaeus (f202) and Athanasius
(T373). Among others Adolf Harnack
but who also now and then writes
the contrary in his critical excur
suses s This belief in the divinity
of Christ is not new; for twas never
wanting before the times of Athana
sius.,' Never! Hence also not before
Irenaeus. also not in apostolic times
If courage and daring in asserting
is science then we have great respect
for Prof Beyschlag (f1900) of Halle
%Thus especially Prof. Ritschl (1S89)
and his school whose principal repre-
sentative is Adolf Harnack of Berlin
Ritschl protests against the accusation
of holding Christ to be "a mere man.
He says: II do not even consider my
opponents as mere men. since / always
that thew nnSSpSS a certain