Epigraph:

God: there is no god but Him, the Ever Living, the Ever Watchful. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. All that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His leave? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they do not comprehend any of His knowledge except what He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth; it does not weary Him to preserve them both. He is the Most High, the Tremendous. (Al Quran 2:255)

Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

The doctrine that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man stands as a cornerstone of Christian theology, encapsulated in the concept known as the “hypostatic union.” This term describes the union of Christ’s two natures—divine and human—in one person. Wikipedia

The two natures of Jesus are often presented as a profound mystery. This article examines if the two natures are logically possible?

Biblical Foundations

Scripture provides the foundation for understanding this dual nature. The Gospel of John opens by affirming the divinity of Christ: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It continues, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” This passage underscores that Jesus, the Word, is both eternal God and incarnate man. In other words the two natures of Jesus, human and divine coexist and finite and infinite are not separate realms but together some how. Wikipedia

The Apostle Paul echoes this in his letter to the Colossians, stating, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” This emphasizes that Jesus embodies the complete nature of God within a human body. Desiring God

Theological Clarifications

The early church grappled with articulating this mystery, leading to the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. The Chalcedonian Creed declared Jesus as “truly God and truly man,” possessing two distinct natures without confusion, change, division, or separation. Wikipedia

The two natures have to coexist in one person as is clarified by the condemnation of Nestorian Heresy.

Philosophical Considerations

The hypostatic union maintains that Jesus’ two natures coexist without merging or altering each other. This means that His divine nature did not diminish His humanity, nor did His human experiences detract from His divinity. The union is personal and complete, allowing Jesus to operate fully within both realms. Wikipedia

Nestorianism

Nestorianism is a 5th-century Christological doctrine attributed to Nestorius, then Patriarch of Constantinople. This doctrine emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ, effectively proposing that Christ exists as two separate persons—one divine and one human—united in a single body. GotQuestions?

Origins and Teachings

Nestorius, influenced by the theological school of Antioch, sought to preserve the full humanity and full divinity of Christ by distinguishing between His two natures. He rejected the term “Theotokos” (Greek for “God-bearer”) traditionally used for the Virgin Mary, arguing that Mary was the mother of Christ’s human nature, not His divine nature. Instead, he proposed the term “Christotokos” (“Christ-bearer”). Encyclopaedia Britannica

Condemnation as Heresy

Nestorius’s teachings sparked significant controversy, leading to the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. The council condemned Nestorianism as heretical, affirming that Christ is a single person with two distinct but inseparable natures—divine and human—and upheld the use of “Theotokos” to emphasize the unity of Christ’s person.

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Aftermath and Legacy of Nestorius

Following the condemnation, supporters of Nestorianism established separate ecclesiastical structures, notably the Church of the East, which extended into Persia and beyond. Despite the schism, the Church of the East developed a rich theological and liturgical tradition, though it faced challenges and further divisions in subsequent centuries. Wikipedia

The belief in Jesus as both fully God and fully man is central to Christian faith, offering profound implications for theology and personal devotion. It assures believers of a Savior who is both sovereign and relatable, capable of bridging the divine-human divide and providing a model for righteous living.

The concept of a “square circle” is inherently contradictory within the framework of Euclidean geometry, as the definitions of a square and a circle are mutually exclusive. A square is defined as a quadrilateral with four equal sides and four right angles, while a circle is the locus of all points equidistant from a central point. These distinct properties make the existence of a “square circle” logically impossible.

In philosophical discourse, the term “square circle” is often employed as an example of a logically impossible object—one that cannot exist by definition. This usage highlights the inherent contradictions in attempting to ascribe mutually exclusive properties to a single entity. The phrase “squaring the circle” has also entered common parlance to describe attempts to achieve the impossible. Collins Dictionary

Theologically, the question of whether God can create a “square circle” touches upon the nature of divine omnipotence. Traditional theological perspectives assert that God’s omnipotence encompasses the ability to do all that is logically possible. This view maintains that logical consistency is a necessary attribute of a coherent reality; thus, actions that entail logical contradictions do not fall within the scope of divine power. As such, creating a “square circle” would be considered a nonsensical task, not because of a limitation in divine power, but because the task itself is devoid of coherent meaning.

This perspective is reflected in the writings of theologians such as Thomas Aquinas, who argued that God’s omnipotence does not extend to performing logical impossibilities, as these are not “things” but rather nonsensical combinations of words. Therefore, the inability to create a “square circle” does not signify a limitation of divine power but rather underscores the coherence and rationality inherent in the concept of omnipotence.

In summary, the notion of a “square circle” represents a logical impossibility due to the mutually exclusive definitions of squares and circles. Theologically, divine omnipotence is understood to operate within the bounds of logical coherence, meaning that God cannot perform logically contradictory actions, such as creating a “square circle.” This understanding emphasizes that omnipotence is not the power to do the logically impossible but rather the capacity to do all that is meaningfully possible.

Conclusion

The belief in Jesus as both fully God and fully man is central to Christian faith, offering profound implications for theology and personal devotion. It assures believers of a Savior who is both sovereign and relatable, capable of bridging the divine-human divide and providing a model for righteous living.

The hypostatic union maintains that Jesus’ two natures coexist without merging or altering each other. This means that His divine nature did not diminish His humanity, nor did His human experiences detract from His divinity. The union is personal and complete, allowing Jesus to operate fully within both realms in the same person, a some sort of very intimate union or marriage of finite and infinite.

If you believe that square circles are logically possible and can exist then you can continue to believe in the Chalcedonian Creed, which declared Jesus as “truly God and truly man,” possessing two distinct natures without confusion, change, division, or separation.

If you agree with most philosophers that square circles are logically impossible then finite does not coexist with infinite.