Steven Carr

The world of early Christianity was full of people whose world had been turned upside down by the amazing story of God becoming incarnate and becoming 'a man just like us'

Take this passage from James 'Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.'

Of course, James knew that God had become incarnate, and had become 'a man just like us'.

So if James wanted an example of the fact that mere men, not just super-prophets, could pray successfully to god, why not use the example of his brother, who was fully human, 'a man just like us'?

Toto

Elijah was a man just like us, according to James, but was Jesus a man just like us? He wasn't just like us - he was god descending into human form.

Besides which, when did Jesus ever pray successfully to God?

Steven Carr

So Jesus wasn't fully man?

I agree that many early Christians never seem to think that Jesus prayed, even though he allegedly instructed on prayer.

mountainman

Dear Steven,

Many early christians viewed Jesus in a docetic manner, particularly the greek gnostics, and the authors of the new testament apochryphal texts. Would you therefore agree that it is possible that such people may not have believed Jesus existed in the historical sense, even though he is alleged to have existed in the historical sense?

Best wishes,


Pete

Lucis

"Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?"

we are all gods descending into human bodies. spirits crucified into matter.

aa5874

It is not really known if anyone named James wrote any letter and it is not really known what the author knew.

And it cannot ever be proven now that some unknown entity called God became anything at all.

By what means do you intend to show that some uknown author called James knew that some God became man just like us.

No Robots

James is exhorting his readers to pray, arguing that the prayers of any just man are effective, and gives the example of Elijah.

andrewcriddle

One problem is the word used in James hOMOIOPAThHS which in other writers usually means of like nature ie just like .. (It only occurs in the NT here and in Acts 14:15 where the passage clearly does mean just like you). However it literally means of like passions (or possibly of like sufferings.) passions in late Greek usually has a bad sense and James here may mean that Elijah had the same sinful tendencies as everyone else.

Andrew Criddle