Jesus as the Fullness of Philosophy: A Philosophical Commentary on John 14:6
- July 14, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: Education
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VI, June 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186
Jesus as the Fullness of Philosophy: A Philosophical Commentary on John 14:6
Elvis Omondi Kauka
Department of Educational Foundations, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya
Abstract: This miniature commentary on John 14:6 is an attempt to argue that Jesus was not only a philosopher but that he is also the embodiment of Philosophy itself. Using ontology, Ethics and Epistemology, the opusculum points to the fact that Christianity has significantly influenced social and moral life of human races for centuries and that even if it were to be erased its imprints would remain all over and forever, otherwise it would possibly mutate and re-grow into a powerful force. The permanency of Christianity is attributable to the fact that it is a Philosophy and that its founder is the Philosophia ipse.
”I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE” JOHN 14:6
I. ONTOLOGY- ”I AM/I AM THE LIFE…”
Ontology studies being qua being. By asserting that ‘he is’, Jesus makes an ontological assertion- that he is existence and life itself, and in so being he is thus the yardstick for determining what is real. In biblical language, the phrase ‘I AM’ is not just a conjugation of the verb ‘to be’ but a metaphysical assertion. While revealing Himself to Moses in the bush (Exodus 3:14), God says ‘I am whom I am’ to mean he is existence itself and pure essence, or merely the ontological one. In fact according to Thomas Aquinas “the most appropriate name of God is the name he gave to Moses at the burning; ‘He who is’ “(Aquinas cited in Mattei, 2007, p.141). Aquinas qualifies this assertion by indicating that in God, there is no distinction between Essence and Existence; he does not receive his existence, but he is his existence. As such God is Ipsum esse. Any other name given to God apart from ”I AM” can be challenged (Mattei, 2007, p.141) due to their descriptive nature. Jesus takes up this title to communicate that he is the existentia ipse, and in being such he is ipso facto the Purus actus (pure act). It is from him that life emanates and culminates, and by commutation, it is from Jesus that Philosophy, which is a critical aspect in human life emanates and culminates. Besides, the evangelist John posits that Jesus is ‘the Reason’.
