Page 128 - Prophet Jesus (Pbuh): A Prophet Not A Son, Of God

126 Prophet Jesus (pbuh): A Prophet, Not A Son, of God

another and even within one society and the words and deeds of Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) assumed various forms from being used by people for dif-
ferent purposes. In the early period, for instance, they were sometimes
used for preaching purposes, to give people advice, and to establish the
moral principles by which the members of a community had to abide.
Bultmann thus reveals that as a consequence of this oral tradition, the
words and deeds of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) were partially altered by the

early Christians. Furthermore, he suggests that the Gospels contain
words that were actually produced by early Christians and then ascribed
to Prophet Jesus (pbuh). He does not think that Prophet Jesus (pbuh) re-
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ferred to himself as the son of God. In his view, that title was developed
after Prophet Jesus (pbuh) under the influence of paganism's motifs of di-
vine figures portrayed as the sons of the gods, divine offspring worshipped in se-
cret religions and savior figures in gnostic mythology, and was then
erroneously ascribed to the prophet. (Surely God is beyond that!) 21

For that reason, the great majority of Western researchers today be-
lieve that the Gospels are not individual texts comprising the accurate collec-

tion of the words of Prophet Jesus (pbuh); rather, they are texts consisting of the
collection, after Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) ascension, of his words and deeds under
the conditions prevailing after his time.

The Gospel's authors

Although they are today known by the names of the authors
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the Gospels were actually penned
anonymously. It is not known whether the individuals behind these
names actually wrote the Gospels or not. The Gospels only began to be
known by their present names in the second half of the second century.

Matthew and John are accepted as true disciples of Prophet Jesus (pbuh),
Mark as a follower of Paul, and Luke as one of Paul's students. In other
words, the authors actually existed, but there is no evidence that the