JESUS IS GOD? NOT ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE.
The Restitution: Biblical Proof Jesus Is Not God may be the most comprehensive, well-documented, biblically in-depth, and yet accessible book ever published that affirms all the church has proclaimed about Jesus except that he is not God. It cites over 400 scholars.
Author Kermit Zarley, a former Trinitarian for 22 years, alleges church fathers of the 4th and 5th centuries were influenced by Greek philosophy in wrongly deciding Jesus was both man and God, the Second Person of the Trinity. Yet he affirms everything else the church has proclaimed about Jesus, including that he was the Christ, born of a virgin, sinless, did miracles, died for our sins, and was raised from the dead to provide forgiveness and salvation. Zarley insists that the early Christians called Jesus "Lord," identified only the Father as "God," and in calling Jesus "the Son of God" they meant no more than one highly favored by God.
With non-technical language and a conservative view of the inspiration of the Bible, Zarley shows (1) Jesus never claimed to be God, (2) his early disciples didn't say he was God in their evangelistic messages in Acts, and (3) most of the major texts cited to prove Jesus is God have grammatical problems that result in alternate readings in Bible versions. So, this book affirms the Apostles Creed but finds fault with the Nicene and Chalcedonian creeds. In sum, The Restitution seeks to restore to Jesus his identity as a man who was essentially subordinate to the one and only God, the Father Almighty.
