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Children of God
Stephen J. Patterson ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This chapter looks at the term "children of God" as used by early followers of Jesus to describe themselves. It explains the term as meaning to be like God and to act as God would act, and as expressing solidarity with all people. It traces the term through Greek, Roman and ancient Jewish literature and through early Christian texts such as Q, Paul's letters, the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Thomas. It links the term to baptism and suggests it may have come from John the Baptist. It is a religious and historical study and does not concern the well-being of children.
Key points
- "Sons" or "children of God" was a term the followers of Jesus used for themselves.
- To be a child of God meant to act as God would act in the world.
- The term also expressed universal solidarity with all other human beings.
- It appears early, in Q and Paul's letters, and later in the Gospel of John, the Johannine letters and the Gospel of Thomas.
- It was associated especially with baptism and may have originated with John the Baptist.
Limitations
The abstract concerns a religious term in ancient texts, not actual children or their well-being. It offers no data, intervention or evidence relevant to child welfare.
Abstract
This chapter shows that “sons” or “children of God” was a term used by the followers of Jesus to refer to themselves. To be a child of God was to be like God, to act as God would act in the world. It was also a term used to express universal solidarity with all other human beings. “Son” or “child of God” has a rich background in Greek and Roman, as well as ancient Jewish, literature. The followers of Jesus adopted it very early on, as the appearance of the term in Q and Paul’s letters demonstrates. It was used for many years thereafter, as seen especially in the Gospel of John and the Johannine letters, as well as the Gospel of Thomas and other literature. It was associated especially with baptism and may have originally come from John the Baptist.