How is Jesus Christ “Divine” – Does it Matter?

[T]hey [the early Christian] were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god…” (Pliny the Younger to the Roman Emperor Trajan, c. 112 AD)

     The question as to who exactly Jesus of Nazareth was is the most important question a person can ask himself. Whether or not Jesus is divine (i.e., whether or not He is God incarnate) is absolutely essential to Christianity. One cannot be a Catholic and at the same time deny the divinity of Christ.  Consider the implications of the issue:

• The divinity of Christ is the most distinctively Christian doctrine of all, the likes of which are found in no other religion.
• This issue defines the essential difference between orthodox, traditional, biblical, historical, creedal Christianity and revisionist, modernist, liberal Christianity. ™ This doctrine is the key to all the other doctrines of Christianity. Without it, nothing else matters and no other doctrines would make sense
• If Christ is divine, then his coming to earth is undoubtedly the most important event in history.
• If Christ is divine, we are obligated to believe everything he says and obey everything he commands.

For Discussion: Is Jesus Christ an Historical Person? Can the Divinity of Christ be Proven? Jesus, the Lunatic? Jesus the Liar? the "Guru" argument, Jesus is Lord! the Resurrection of Christ, the "Swwon" theory, the "Conspiracy" theory, the "Hallucination" theory, the "Myth" theory, Christ's Own Claim to Divinity