How do you know?
Christ is not a gnostic. He is not merely a human who "achieved a higher consciousness," he is the eternal Son of God incarnate. See [John 1](https://esv.org/John+1), [Colossians 1](https://esv.org/Col+1), [Hebrews 1](https://esv.org/Heb+1), etc.
Discussion
He told us.
That’s not how you “know”. That’s what you read.
What I read is objectively clear.
It literally isn’t. You’re hiding behind verses and won’t even bear your testimony. The reason you won’t is because then you’ll accept the subjectivity of your faith.
You don’t “know”. You BELIEVE. You assume something to be true that you don’t know. Now why would one person assume something they read to be true and another ( me ) not?
Well that comes down to our psychology. Your psychology is rooted in the need for a protector, a need for order, a need for a method to the madness of life, a need for “deliverance”, a need for a father and a brother to save you. Why do you have that need, and because of it, cling to words written in the Bible, and someone else doesn’t?
I'm not hiding behind anything, friend. I believe in order to understand. Belief is always the ultimate starting point of knowledge--"I believe in order to understand," as St. Anselm famously put it.
A thing can be clear in and of itself (perspecuity) even though a given subject is unable clearly to see it (perspicacity). So how do the scales come off?
Yes, the subjective difference is faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, which is precisely why I am sharing it--in hopes that others will believe as well.
"All the riches of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ."
Theology is not a subcategory of anthropology (or psychology).
The existence of God is clear from creation and conscience (despite those who repress this knowledge).
The law of God, written on our hearts, manifest in our conscience, reveals our true need for Christ.
Christ walked this earth and told us of this need, and then--wonder of wonders--met our need. He proved his identity with supernatural wonders including his own resurrection. That validates his message. The tomb is empty.
These are historical facts, not the byproducts of an immature father-hunger. They happened. "Under Pontius Pilate--it is all in order" as Lewis put it.
Dude endless punchlines. Insufferable. They’re not historical facts. These are all things you deduced (inaccurately) and someone else hasn’t. Talk to a Christian once and you’ve talked to them all.
The fact remains you don’t KNOW. You believe.
Faith is not wishful thinking or presumption. It is confidence based on evidence. All knowledge involves some element of trust and assent.
Do you *know* that your mother is who she says she is--your mother? Or do you merely "believe" her? If not, do you *know* that she treasures you or do you only "believe" her when she says it? You're driving too large a wedge between knowledge and belief and trust.
What's insufferable, if I may say so, is that our Creator has gone to such enormous lengths to speak to us, to persuade us, to call us back to himself, and yet people are like "yeah, I'm still not buying it." He became one of us, brought Truth, Light, healing, spoke words of comfort, then died on the cross *for us*--and STILL people are like "nah, still not convinced."
"Longsuffering?" I'd say so.
Our Redeemer calls you to come home. Stop running, stop fiddling about with hocus pocus manmade "All is One" nonsense and just come home before the opportunity passes.
Even if this particular point is fruitless, perhaps we can simply fall back to having common cause in liberty, bitcoin, nostr, etc. I would rejoice to become full allies but I am content enough to be co-belligerents in this space. I've said my piece.
Jesus never once says, “I am the *only* son of God.”
...that's wordplay, friend. He is *the* Son of God, and said he is the *only* way to the Father, as quoted above. His name is exalted--pedestalized, one might say--above all other names, as quoted above. He said *I am* the Light of the World--not *we are* the light of the world, if you'll just realize that you're god too."
Christians are sons by adoption through propitiation. He is the Son by eternal generation.