Jesus, himself knew of God’s existence upon looking at the designs of human nature, aswell of being a Jew, But Jesus is known for his Natural Religion, which he taught. Which would be named Christian Deism in the future. But what does Jesus’s natural religion have to Christianity. The word "theology" comes from two Greek words, "theos" meaning "god," and "logos" meaning "word." Taken together we have the concept of "words about God" or "knowledge about God."
Some organized religions claim to have special knowledge about God that has been revealed only to a specific individual or exclusive group in some supernatural way. On the other hand, "natural theology" refers to what can be known about God from natural sources that are available to everyone.
Natural theology does not begin with a study of God but begins with a study of yourself. You are aware of your own individual existence; so, you wonder "Where did my life come from?" It is obvious that you did not make any decision or take any action that brought your life into existence. This clearly implies that your life came from a source beyond yourself. We may give this source a name, "God."
This leads us to the question, "Is the source of life, or God, some unintelligent force that accidentally brought human life into existence?" Perhaps. But we who like to have the answer to this question say "no." as You can find this answer by thinking about what you are and where you are.
First, you must look at yourself. Your physical body is a complex "machine" consisting of many complicated and interrelated parts and organs that function together in an amazing way. The human body is designed to be as it is. Even more amazing is the presence of your "personal consciousness" (or "individual self") within your physical body. You are perceiving the world around you from within your body. Of approximately six billion human bodies on the earth today, you are in only one of them. Why did your particular "personal consciousness" come into existence at this time in the history of the world? Why are "you" in the body you have, instead of being in another human body? Certainly, you had no part in deciding these matters.
As you think about "what you are," you will begin to realize that the "source of life" is capable of "designing" a complex and intelligent being -- you! It is not logical that an intelligent being (you) could have been designed by an unintelligent and accidental force. We cannot comprehend all that "God" is, but we can certainly believe that God is more than what we are.
Now, think about where you are. At this moment, you are literally standing on the side of a large round rock --called the "Earth" -- that is molten on the inside and having a thin crust on the outside. If you were standing on the equator around the middle of the Earth, you would be spinning at 1,000 miles per hour (but slower on other parts of the earth). Also, you are now zooming through space at 67,000 miles per hour in an orbit around the Sun. What keeps you from being hurled off the Earth and into space as you fly along? Something called gravity. What keeps the Earth in its orbit around the Sun so we are not too close to the Sun (where we would burn up) and not too far from the Sun (where we would freeze)? The probable conclusion is that this is all designed to be this way. We call the designer "God."
When Jesus said that the first and greatest "commandment" is for us to love God, Jesus was talking about "appreciating" God as our Creator. As we think about our own personal existence and the universe around us, it is not difficult to recognize and "appreciate" the reality and power of God. This is the first basic principle in natural theology.
Jesus said that the second "commandment " of God is that we should love our "neighbor" (whom Jesus defined as everyone). Is it possible for us to discover this "law" of God in ourselves and the world around us? The answer is "yes." Is there anyone who does not know that it is better to love others than to hate others? I have never met anyone who does not know this. Regardless of nationality, race, gender, age, religion, or anything else, human beings know that love is better than hate.
Knowledge of this "law" of love for others can come from our experience and observation. Upon the studying of social work, which consists of human psychopathology and psycho-social development. It is well known in the community that infants who are deprived of love and personal care can be damaged psychologically and even die. It is also well known that anger and hate can cause high blood pressure, headaches, ulcers, and mental problems. We can easily observe that love has a positive effect on us, and the experience of hatred has a negative effect. Human experience affirms the validity of the law of "love for others." This is simply the way that God designed us. This is the second basic principle in true Christianity
From natural theology, we can conclude that God has the power to give life, and we have the responsibility to live life as we are designed to live it. Jesus illustrated these natural truths in his parables of the "talents (money)" and the "good Samaritan."
But what about the Natural Religion of Jesus? What did Jesus himself believe
Before we understand Jesus’s beliefs, I should remind myself of the definition of religion. The word "religion" comes from the Latin word "religio" which has a meaning influenced by the verb "religare" to bind, in the sense of "place an obligation on" (World Book Dictionary).
The World Book Dictionary defines "obligation" as "duty" which, in turn, is defined as "a thing which a person ought to do; a thing which is right to do."
In other words, religion deals with "how a person ought to live" or what is "right to do." What duties or obligations do we, as individuals, have in living our lives?
When we look around us, we see many different "organized religions" such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others. In their attempts to say, "how a person ought to live" or "what is right to do," these organized religions place many different "obligations" on their members. Since these organized religions began at various times and in various geographical locations, however none of these religions have always been known by all human beings in all places and on earth.
Is there any "religion" which is known by all humankind? The answer is "yes." It is a natural religion that "places some obligations (duties) on" everyone. How is this natural religion known to everyone, and what are the obligations (duties) that are placed on everyone?
This natural religion has had many proponents through the centuries. The proponent who is best known was an itinerant Jewish rabbi (teacher) named Jesus. An "organized religion," called "Christianity," has developed over the centuries based on theological theories "about Jesus" but the organized religion has truly little to do with the natural religion "of Jesus." By disregarding the theological theories "about Jesus," we can discover the basic principles of natural religion in the teachings "of Jesus."
Jesus was once considered a religious heretic by the leaders of the organized religion in his time and place. Jesus was a Jew and his cultural religion was the traditional Jewish religion (an ancient form of what we now call "Judaism"). In his day, Judaism had accumulated a complex structure of religious "obligations" that were placed on Jews. The natural religion of Jesus reduced these obligations to two: love for God and love for neighbor.
Jesus referred to these two obligations as God's "commandments" (laws) or God's "word" (truth). Jesus taught that these two obligations are known by everyone because they are planted like a seed sown "in the heart" (Matthew 13:18-23).
This Natural religion, later, becoming Christian Deism as taught by Jesus, is based on these two natural laws that are inherent in human nature. Violation of these two laws by anyone is life destructive. Obedience of these two laws is life creative. This is known through human experience.
What Jesus meant by "love for God" and "love for neighbor" is defined by Jesus in his stories called "parables." Jesus believed that it was his mission, and ours, to establish the "kingdom of God" on earth. Jesus used the term "kingdom of God" to refer to the rule of God's laws in the lives of individuals and in human society.
The "gospel" that Jesus preached was, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). In his "gospel," Jesus said nothing about "saving" anyone by Jesus' death (the "gospel" which is preached today in trinitarian churches). Obviously, Jesus' death had not occurred at the time he asked people to "believe in the gospel." Jesus' "gospel" (good news) was about the "kingdom of God" on earth. This was the only "gospel" that Jesus knew.
The so-called "gospel" heard in trinitarian churches today was developed by church councils over a period of four centuries. These councils modified the theology of Paul, a man who never claimed to have seen or heard Jesus except in an alleged "vision" after the lifetime of Jesus. Paul was a Jew who interpreted Jesus' crucifixion as a human sacrifice to God to atone for the sins of humankind. At the time when Jesus and Paul lived, a "ram without blemish" was sacrificed in the Jewish temple as a "guilt offering" to God as an atonement for sins. Paul used this as an analogy to interpret the crucifixion of Jesus as a sacrifice to atone for sins. (Romans 5:6-10; Ephesians 5:2).
Jesus specifically taught that God required no sacrifices to atone for sins. Jesus said, "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice'." (Matthew 9:13). Here, Jesus is quoting the Hebrew prophet Hosea who claimed to be quoting God: "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice; the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6).
The theological theory that Jesus sacrificed his life, as a substitute for us, to atone for (pay for) the sins of humankind is called the "substitutionary theory of the atonement." This theory, which was adopted in trinitarian Christianity, is contrary to the true teachings of Jesus. Jesus made it very clear that God forgives us if we repent of our sins and we are willing to forgive others who sin against us (Matthew 18:23-35; Luke 11:4; Luke 17:3-4; Matthew 6:14-15; Luke 15:11-24).
It is important to know what Jesus meant by love for God, love for neighbor, repentance, forgiveness, and the kingdom of God on earth. These are key concepts in the natural religion of Jesus. Jesus explained the meanings of these concepts through his gospel, for those who the view gospel, life becomes more understandable from what we can learn from these teachings.
Great article. Jesus was both critical of orthodox Judaism and against Roman imperialism. He traveled alongside women as his closest companions and saw them as equals. He expanded the definition of "neighbor" to include Jews and Gentiles alike. He came with the tidings of a "Kingdom of God", which I believe means a social order where no creature would claim godhead/lordship over another, and everybody would submit to the Creator alone, to the rights endowed by It. Without doubt he is a figure of natural religion in history. The tragedy of his political murder gave birth to a cult in his name. I believe similar things can be said for Muhammad as well.