How can anyone be right or wrong about whether Jesus is a god? It comes down to belief. The way I understand Christianity, nearly every Christian believes Jesus is god, no matter how they came to that conclusion, whether through a true understanding of scripture or through a misinterpretation of it. In the end, what does it matter? As far as I'm concerned no god has been shown to exist. All claims to godliness are without evidence. But Christians believe it. This argument is on the same level as "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?"
Lois, my interest is in the timelines of history, I see Jesus as more of a political figure from where I stand than a god. Maybe because that is where my interest in history have taken me. To me your god is John and the synoptic group more than Jesus. But it is what it is.
I would like to step away from the Synoptic for a moment and look at the evolving history.
Trying to follow the history of religion, the apostles that went north established the Catholic Church, said to be commissioned by Jesus. Then there was a break off the church, what is known as the Catholic Church varies from the original Catholic Church which we know as Orthodox Christianity. This is important because of what they value as teachings. The Catholics use the Synoptic Gospels as being done here. But the Orthodox religion uses 2 Thessalonians 2:15King James Version (KJV).
15 - Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Point being, the question at hand is, did the people at the time regard Jesus as man or god. And Orthodox is closer to the religion of Jesus’s time.
An epistle (/ᵻˈpɪsəl/; Greek "πιστολή, epistolē, "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum.
So my question would be are there any known Orthodox epistles that cover this question? We may be getting into a new area with little data for many of us. I know it is new to me. In Orthodox Christianity, my understanding is the Church, which would be the people (you and me), and Jesus make up Christ.
Point being. In the early church, could the people also become part of god as Jesus did? Was that the way the thinking was back then?
Basically, Jesus Christ did not come to establish such a thing as "Christianity". Even the word is not in the Holy Scriptures. What Christ Jesus did do was to establish the Church, which Scripture calls both His Body and His Bride. The communion which man seeks with God is found by being part of the Church, something which St. Paul calls a "great mystery", whereby we become members of Christ: "of His flesh, and of His bones." (Ephesians 5:30)
http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/questions.html
I agree that Jesus did not establish Christianity. But the that was not the question. The question was whether the writers of the gospels believed that Jesus was god.
Lois