A priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Rev. Fr. Oluoma Chinenye John, has said that if Jesus is not God, and if the Bible isn’t certain of this, then Christianity is a scam.
He took to his verified Facebook page to post that what distinguishes Christianity from other religions is the fact and belief that Jesus Christ is God.
According to the Catholic priest, only an imposter will claim to be a Christian and simultaneously reject Jesus Christ as God.
He wrote;
“IF JESUS CHRIST IS NOT GOD,
“If Jesus is not God, and if the Bible isn’t clear on this, Christianity is a scam. There’s hardly anything Christianity teaches that can’t be found in one or more other religions. Is it love, peace, charity, prayer, fasting, or invisible things?
What gives Christianity exclusive uniqueness and difference from every other religion is the fact and belief that Jesus Christ is God. If you take that away, Christianity is nothing but a variation of any other religion.
“And if the Bible doesn’t categorically make it clear that Jesus is God, either the Bible or the Christian faith, or both should be thrown away. Many texts in the Bible EXPLICITLY declare that Jesus is God. I will give just 3. I will leave Jn 1:1 as Fr Mbaeri OSJ has done justice to it.
“1. “His answer to them was, ‘My Father goes on working, and so do I. But that only made the Jews even more intent on killing him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he spoke of God as his own father and so MADE HIMSELF GOD’S EQUAL”. Jn 5:17-18.
“The Jews understood exactly what Jesus meant here by calling God his Father and saying both of them are still working, it meant he is EQUAL with the Father, so both of them are God.
“2. Thomas replied: ” My LORD and my GOD” Jn 20:28.
Isn’t this clear enough? When Thomas acknowledged Jesus as Lord and God, did you hear Jesus say: ” No, no, no, Thomas, I’m not God o, just call me master or teacher?
“3. Who, being in the form of God, did not count EQUALITY with God something to be grasped…… and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as LORD to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:6, 11.
“There are many other texts and contexts where the Bible makes it explicit that Jesus is Lord and God. Anyone who uses passages like ” The Father is greater than I” to conclude that Jesus is not God is biased against the preponderance of textual and contextual evidence.
“You can’t be a Christian and not believe or accept that Jesus Christ is God. You can be a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a traditional African religion adherent, a Nigerian, an American, an atheist, agnostic, sceptic, Arius or a Reno Omokri, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being any of these, they respect Jesus but do not accept or believe he’s God, and that’s fine, it’s not a crime, they are just not Christians.
“What you can’t be is a Christian who doesn’t accept or believe that Jesus Christ is God, that’s a contradiction, more like an oxymoron.
“The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is God. Christians are believers who accept and worship Jesus Christ as God. Only an imposter will claim to be a Christian and simultaneously reject Jesus Christ as God.”
Eighteen-Eleven Media