Years ago, I became troubled about my belief in the Trinity and thus my belief that Jesus is God. It was because Jesus said of his return, “But about that day and/or hour no one knows, neither the angels of/in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24.36/Mark 13.32 NRSV). According to orthodox Christian theology, God is omniscient, knowing everything including the future. So, in order for Jesus to be God he must have known the time of his yet future return. Regardless, Jesus saying the Father knows that time but he himself does not indicates that Jesus cannot be as fully God as the Father is. For the first time in my life, I began to wonder if this saying of Jesus indicated that he was not God. I was well aware of the theological teaching called “the hypostatic union.” The Catholic Church officially decided it in 451. It means that Jesus possessed both a fully divine nature and a fully human nature. Traditionalists applied it to the New Testament gospels like a grid, interpreting whatever Jesus said or did according to one of his supposed two natures, thus either his divine nature or his human nature.		Kermit Zarley

I had always accepted this hypostatic union of Christ because, like most Christians, that is what I had been taught. But now I began to question it. I concluded that Jesus proclaiming that he didn't know something when he really did made him look like a liar. Plus, I thought any human being having two natures seemed schizophrenic, especially if one nature knew something that the other nature didn't; but more so if these two natures had corresponding wills that could oppose each other, such as Jesus’ prayer just before his arrest.

So, this consternation about Jesus’ identity arose within me solely because of my lifelong study of the Bible. It resulted in my undertaking a very in-depth quest for the real Jesus of history. To date, I estimate that I have read about a thousand volumes about Jesus' identity.

My name is Kermit Zarley. You can learn more about me, my career as a professional golfer, and my other interests at my website kermitzarley.com.

I am available to publicly debate whether or not Jesus is God with any qualified person with whom a substantial audience can be guaranteed. I am less willing to debate the doctrine of the Trinity, since I regard it as of lesser importance due to the fact that it developed later in history and was founded upon the basis of the supposed deity of Christ (=Jesus is God). To schedule such a debate, contact the webmaster by emailing webmaster@ServetusTheEvangelical.com.

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