Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · 1. God in Christianity
'Son of God' in Jewish idiom
In short
- 1.Israel collectively: 'Israel is my firstborn son' [Exodus 4:22].
- 2.David (PBUH) and the Davidic king: 'You are my son; today I have become your father' [Psalm 2:7].
- 3.Adam (PBUH) is called 'the son of God' in Luke's own genealogy [Luke 3:38].
- 4.The peacemakers 'will be called sons of God' [Matthew 5:9] — plainly not deity.
- 5.Read in its own idiom, the title elevates but does not deify.
The claim being examined
The title 'Son of God' is taken by Trinitarians to indicate a unique metaphysical sonship — God the Son, begotten not made.
The Islamic position
Islam reads the title as the Hebrew Bible uses it: a term of closeness, election and righteousness, applied to many, and never implying divinity.
Analysis
The New Testament was written by Jews and first read by Jews, and in that vocabulary calling someone a son of God is about relationship and favour, not about sharing God's own being. The shift to a literal reading tracks the young Church moving out of its Jewish setting and into a Greco-Roman world where sons of gods were a familiar idea. The Qur'an's insistence that God "begets not" is not a misunderstanding of Christian doctrine — it is a rejection of the literalising move that produced it.
From the Qur'an
وَقَالَتِ ٱلنَّصَـٰرَى ٱلْمَسِيحُ ٱبْنُ ٱللَّهِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَٰهِهِمْ ۖ
waqālati l-naṣārā l-masīḥu ub'nu l-lahi dhālika qawluhum bi-afwāhihim
The Christians say the Messiah is the son of God. That is their statement from their mouths.
وَقَالُوا۟ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَلَدًۭا لَّقَدْ جِئْتُمْ شَيْـًٔا إِدًّۭا تَكَادُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنشَقُّ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ ٱلْجِبَالُ هَدًّا أَن دَعَوْا۟ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ وَلَدًۭا وَمَا يَنۢبَغِى لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ أَن يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا
waqālū ittakhadha l-raḥmānu waladan laqad ji'tum shayan iddan takādu l-samāwātu yatafaṭṭarna min'hu watanshaqqu l-arḍu watakhirru l-jibālu haddan an daʿaw lilrraḥmāni waladan wamā yanbaghī lilrraḥmāni an yattakhidha waladan
They say the Most Merciful has taken a son. You have done an atrocious thing.
From the Bible
בְּנִי אַתָּה אֲנִי הַיּוֹם יְלִדְתִּיךָ
You are my son; today I have begotten you.
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