I always pay attention to your posts and thank you for the courtesy ping. Nice to hear from you again. I DO read your posts, but as many can see after reading this one, I don't put much credence in them. A person who is a self-professed agnostic is definitely not going to think of nor see Biblical things in the same light as I do. I expect nothing different, however, this by no means implies I accept your opinions as truth. You have come to them through a certain channel in your life and we may never agree on many things. I do respect you and your knowledge of some things and, like I said, do read them and pay attention to them.
I wholeheartedly disagree with your statement about Peter and Paul not believing Jesus was God. That statement is patently false and I don't even need the writings of Paul to prove it. Peter was in the upper room after the resurrection. When Jesus appeared to the disciples and Thomas, in particular, the following transpired:
John 20:27-29
27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
In Matthew 16:16, the famous "confession of Peter", Jesus asked him, "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus even told him that God revealed this truth to him and then said the church would be built upon that truth. Do you really think he was thinking Jesus was just a man? What kind of truth is that, weren't they all? And Peter knew the Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would be "God with us" (Emmanuel), God incarnate, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.
I have quoted many scriptures from Paul that clearly, at least to me and others on this thread, state the divinity of Jesus Christ. You can refuse to see them in that light, but they ARE there and leave no doubt as to belief of the Apostles in the triune God. This theology was "big time" and God would not have failed to reveal the truth to his future leaders. Nicea confirmed the understanding but did not invent it.
Very good. We have John telling us that Jesus is God, kinda, sorta, and only on occasion.
13 8 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi 9 he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, 10 others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 11 Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
This does not say that Jesus is God. Far from it. David, for instance was a son of God. So were most of the OT kings. This is not proof of the divinity of Jesus.
I have quoted many scriptures from Paul that clearly, at least to me and others on this thread, state the divinity of Jesus Christ.
They state certain things, but they do not state that Jesus is God, however much Protestants wish it.
If you read what I write then you would know that quoting John on this particualr issue is a clear miss for obvious reasons. John's Gospel aims at hellenizing Jesus into a Platonic God, so that verse doesn't come as a surprise, especially taken in the context of the times and where Christainity was.
Matthew 16 fairs no better. They were all Jews and as Jews they would have believed that the "son of God" is a humamn being, not God. You will just have to learn more about Judaism, especially first century Judaism, to understand exactly what I am saying.
I also highly recommend that you read Jewish exegesis of Isaiah. None of the verse you allude to refers to some future divine messiah. Not even his name.
All the best to you.