John 3:16

==== "Only begotten" ====
The Gospel of John uses lexically and syntactically unsophisticated language, and has a significant number of theologically laden phrases that have become an important part of Christianity.<ref name="rise">{{Citation|last=Blumczyński |first=Piotr |title=The rise and fall of a translational compound: "the only begotten" in the English versions of the New Testament |work=New Voices in Translation Studies 2 |date=2006 |pages=1–8 }}</ref> John 3:16 also contains the designation for Jesus as the "only begotten", a key Christological title in the pre-modern versions of the English Bible, which has almost completely disappeared from most contemporary translations.<ref name="rise"/> The original word, ''monogens'', has a complex etymological analysis, and there is no consensus among scholars on its exact development and meaning. The phrase "only begotten" is traceable to the [[Latin]] translation made by the [[Church Fathers|Church Father]] [[Jerome]] in the late fourth century called the ''Biblia vulgata''. Jerome translated the Greek adjective ''monogens'' into the Latin cognate ''unigenitus'', which recurred in English translations as "only begotten" for almost six centuries.<ref name="rise" />

The "only begotten Son" shows a deep relationship between God the Father and God the Son (Jesus).{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=2015|1p=11|2a1=Lucado|2y=2007|2p=44}} However, post-1950s translations changed it to "only Son"{{sfn|Solomon|2011|pp=138–140}} or "one and only Son";{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=2015|1p=10|2a1=Lucado|2y=2007|2p=9}} this met criticism for setting aside the [[virgin birth of Jesus]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/lets-go-back-to-only-begotten/ |title=Let's Go Back to 'Only Begotten' |date=23 November 2016 |website=[[The Gospel Coalition]] |access-date=14 March 2022 |last=Irons |first=Charles Lee |archive-date=29 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129111156/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/lets-go-back-to-only-begotten/ |url-status=live }}</ref> to his mother [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]].{{sfnm|1a1=Borthwick|1y=2020|1p=82|2a1=Köstenberger|2y=2020|2pp=36, 40–41|3a1=Rainbow|3y=2014|3pp=178, 353}} Dale Moody of the ''[[Journal of Biblical Literature]]'' offered two alternatives for John 3:16: "Only one of his kind" (from ''{{Lang|el|μονος}}'' [''monos'', one] and ''{{Lang|el|γένος}}'' [''genos'', kind]), or "his 'unique' son".<ref>{{Cite journal |title=God's Only Son: The Translation of John 3:16 in the Revised Standard Version |last=Moody |first=Dale |date=December 1953 |doi=10.2307/3261699 |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |volume=72 |issue=4 |pages=213–219 |jstor=3261699 |s2cid=165378454 }}</ref> The author Paul Borthwick wrote "only begotten Son" signifies that Jesus possesses "every artibute of pure Godhood";{{sfnm|1a1=Borthwick|1y=2020|1p=12}} Pawson, however, argued that the phrase stated Jesus is not everlasting.{{sfn|Pawson|2014|p=13}}{{efn|In [[Christian theology]], Jesus holds the same position along with God the Father and [[God the Holy Spirit]].{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=2015|1p=8|2a1=Pawson|2y=2014|2p=12|3a1=Rainbow|3y=2014|3pp=83, 249}} This concept is known as the Trinity,{{sfnm|1a1=Borthwick|1y=2020|1p=82|2a1=Köstenberger|2y=2020|2p=429|3a1=Rainbow|3y=2014|3p=154|4a1=Ralph|4y=2003|4pp=252, 259}} which states that [[Monotheism|God is one]] but exists co-equally, co-eternally, and [[Consubstantiality|co-substantial]]ly as the aforementioned three;<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|232–267}}</ref> each essence, however, is not same towards the other ones.{{sfnm|1a1=Lucado|1y=2007|1p=85|2a1=Rainbow|2y=2014|2p=160|3a1=Ralph|3y=2003|3p=291}} In John 3:16, the relationship between God the Father and Jesus, also referred to as God the Son, is shown.{{sfnm|1a1=Borthwick|1y=2020|1pp=74, 94|2a1=Hurtado|2y=2005|2p=363|3a1=Köstenberger|3y=2020|3p=127}} The addition of "begotten"—which purposely asserts that Jesus' life started after his virgin birth—is considered a contradiction of the doctrine,{{sfnm|1a1=Pawson|1y=2014|1p=13|2a1=Rainbow|2y=2014|2p=308}} since it does not affirm that Jesus is also [[Self-existence|self-existent]] together with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Idea of Pre-Existence in the Fourth Gospel |last=Strachan |first=R. H. |date=January 1914 |journal=[[The American Journal of Theology]] |doi=10.1086/479315 |pages=81–105 |volume=18 |issue=1 }}</ref>}} Theologian [[Pheme Perkins]] believed the phrase "He gave His only begotten Son" could be a reference to [[crucifixion of Jesus|his later crucifixion]],{{sfnm|1a1=Lucado|1y=2007|1pp=11, 87|2a1=Perkins|2y=1990|2p=956}} an opinion shared by [[Murray J. Harris]] and [[Robert E. Van Voorst]].{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=2015|1p=33|2a1=Lucado|2y=2007|2p=45}}

===== Muslim commentary =====
The validity of Jesus' status as the "only begotten son" of God, as described in John 3:16, has been disputed by Muslim scholars especially,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/february4/is-god-of-muhammad-father-of-jesus.html |title=Is the God of Muhammad the Father of Jesus? |last=George |first=Timothy |work=[[Christianity Today]] |access-date=3 May 2022 |date=4 February 2002 |archive-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321205231/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/february4/is-god-of-muhammad-father-of-jesus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> who deny the [[Islamic view of the Trinity|Trinity]] and consider such concepts as a denial of ''[[tawhid]]'' (oneness of God).<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/februaryweb-only/22.0.html |title=There Can Be No End to Jihad' |last=McRoy |first=Anthony |date=1 February 2005 |work=Christianity Today |access-date=3 May 2022 |archive-date=11 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811001628/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/februaryweb-only/22.0.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Gombe State University]]'s Yakubu Modibbo and [[University of Maiduguri]]'s Dani Mamman claimed other verses from the Bible that, they believed, are an affirmation of other "begotten sons" of God, and thus contradict Jesus' words or John's commentary; [[Book of Psalms|Psalms]] 2:7 for example, which reads, "I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you'."<ref name="status" /> They added that, despite unambiguous, "Christians still regards all the biblical sons of God as adopted sons by God, through faith in Jesus."<ref name="status">{{Citation |url=https://www.academia.edu/40949959 |title=Scriptural Analysis on the Divine Sonship of Jesus from the Qur'an and the Bible |last1=Modibbo |first1=Yakubu |last2=Mamman |first2=Dani |publisher=[[Gombe State University]], [[University of Maiduguri]] |pages=6–7 |access-date=3 May 2022 |archive-date=3 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503085834/https://www.academia.edu/40949959/SCRIPTURAL_ANALYSIS_ON_THE_DIVINE_SONSHIP_OF_JESUS_FROM_THE_QUR_AN_AND_BIBLE |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the Christian apologist A. Yousef Al-Katib wrote that it is actually a reference to the coming son of God, who in Christian theology is identified as Jesus; he also wrote of [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 13:33 that quotes the verse to prove Jesus' divine sonship.{{sfn|Al-Katib|2014|p=57}}