"Son of God" is a phrase which, according to most Christian denominations Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son". To a minority of Christians, nontrinitarians, the term "Son of God", applied to Jesus in the New Testament, is accepted, while the non-biblical but less ambiguous "God the Son" is not.
Throughout history, emperors have assumed titles that amount to being "a son of god", "a son of a god" or "son of Heaven". Roman Emperor Augustus referred to his relation to the deified adoptive father, Julius Caesar as "son of a god" via the term divi filius which was later also used by Domitian and is distinct from the use of Son of God in the New Testament.
In the New Testament, the title "Son of God" is applied to Jesus on many occasions. It is often seen as referring to his divinity, from the beginning in the Annunciation up to the Crucifixion. The declaration that Jesus is the Son of God is made by many individuals in the New Testament, and on two separate occasions by God the Father as a voice from Heaven, and is asserted by Jesus himself.
Read more about Son Of God: Historical Context, Christianity, Other Religions and Belief Systems, Imperial Titles
Famous quotes containing the words son of, son and/or god:
“In the middle classes the gifted son of a family is always the poorest—usually a writer or artist with no sense for speculation—and in a family of peasants, where the average comfort is just over penury, the gifted son sinks also, and is soon a tramp on the roadside.”
—J.M. (John Millington)
“It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 20:26-28.
“Napoleon has not been conquered by men. He was greater than any of us. God punished him because he relied solely on his own intelligence until that incredible instrument was so strained that it broke.”
—Jean Baptiste Bernadotte (1763–1844)