IS JESUS GOD ? - PART TEN

                                              IS JESUS GOD ?

      PART TEN

       (copied from
        Y-Jesus.com)



Could Jesus Have Been Self-Deceived ?

Albert Schweitzer. who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1952, for his humanitarian efforts, had his own views about Jesus.  Schweitzer concluded that insanity was behind Jesus' claims to be God. In other words Jesus was wrong about His claims but didn't intentionally lie. According to this theory Jesus was actually deluded into believing He was the Messiah.


Lewis considered this option carefully. He deduced that if Jesus' claims were not true, then He must have been insane. Lewis reasons that someone who claimed to be God could not be a great moral teacher. "He would either be a lunatic- on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell."

Most who have studied Jesus' life and words, acknowledge Him as extremely rational. Although his own life was filled with immorality and  personal skepticism, the renowned French philosopher Jean- Jacques Rousseau, (1712 - 1778) acknowledged Jesus' superior character and presence of mind, stating, "When Plato describes his imaginary righteous man ..... he describes exactly the character of Christ. If the life and death of Socrates are those of  a philosopher, the life and death of Jesus Christ are of a God."

Bono concludes that a nutcase was the last thing one could label Jesus.

     "So, what you are left with is Christ was what          He said He was - or a complete nutcase. I              mean we are talking nutcase on the level of           Charles Manson .... I am not joking here. The         idea that  the entire course of civilization for           over half of the globe could have had its fate           changed and turned upside down by a nutcase,       for me that is far-fetched. "

So, was Jesus a liar,or a lunatic or was He the Son of God? Could Jefferson have been right in labeling Jesus "only a good moral teacher,"  while  denying His deity? Interestingly  the audience who heard Jesus - both believers and enemies - never regarded Him as a mere moral teacher. Jesus produced three primary effects in people who met Him: hatred, terror, or adoration.

The claims of Jesus Christ force us to choose. As Lewis stated, we cannot put Jesus in the category of  being just a great religious leader or a great moral teacher. This former skeptic challenges us to make up our own minds about Jesus, stating;

"You must make your choice, either this man was and is the Son Of God , or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. 
He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."


In Mere Christianity, Lewis explores the options regarding the identity of Jesus, concluding that He is exactly Who He claimed to be.  His careful examination of the life and words of Jesus led this 
great literary genius to renounce his former atheism and become a committed Christian.

The greatest question in human history is "Who is the real Jesus Christ? "  Bono, Lewis and countless others have concluded that God visited our planet in human form, but if that is true then we would expect Him to be alive today. And that is exactly what His followers believe.

Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead?

The eyewitnesses to Jesus Christ actually spoke and acted like they believed He physically rose from the dead after His crucifixion. 

If they were wrong then Christianity has been founded upon a lie. But, if they were right, such a miracle would substantiate all Jesus said about Himself, God and us. 

But must we take the resurrection of Jesus Christ by faith alone, or is there solid historical evidence?  Several skeptics began investigations into the historical record to prove the resurrection account false. What did they discover?


next post 5th August