If Jesus' claim to be God are false, we have two alternatives. He either knew his claim was false, or he didn't:
More than that, He was a demon, because He told others to trust Him for their eternal destiny. If He could not back up His claim, and knew it, then He was unspeakably evil!
He would also have been a fool, because it was His claims of being God that led to His horrible crucifixion and death on the cross.
How could He do this, while never losing the even balance of His mind; sailing serenely over all the troubles and persecutions; who always returned the wisest answer to tempting questions; and calmly and deliberately predicting His own death on the cross, resurrection on the third day, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the founding of the Church, the destruction of Jerusalem --- predictions which have been literally fulfilled?
Someone Who Lived as Jesus Lived, Taught as Jesus Taught, and Died as Jesus Died --- Could Not Have Been a Liar !!!
If it is not reasonably possible for Jesus to have been a liar, then could He have thought He was God and been mistaken? After all, it is possible to be both sincere and wrong!
But we must remember that for someone to think that he was God, especially in a culture that was fiercely monotheistic, and then to tell others that their eternal destiny depends on believing in Him, was no slight flight of fancy, but the thoughts of a lunatic in the fullest sense. Was Jesus Christ such a person?
Some famous quotes:
Peter Kreef (Fote, pg. 60-61): “Jesus has in abundance precisely those three qualities that lairs and lunatics most conspicuously lack: (1) His practical wisdom, His ability to read human hearts (2) His deep and winning love, His passionate compassion, His ability to attract people and make them feel at home and forgiven, His authority “not as the scribes.” (3) His ability to astonish, His unpredictability, His creativity. Liars and lunatics are so dull and predictable! No one who knows both the Gospels and human beings can seriously entertain the possibility that Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or a bad man.”
Napoleon Bonaparte (Grounds, ROH, 37): “I know men: and I tell you Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity ... between Him and everyone else in the world there is no comparison. He is truly a being by Himself. His ideas and sentiments, the truth which he announces. His manner of convincing are not explained either by human organization or by the nature of things... His religion is a revelation from an intelligence which certainly is not that of man ... One can absolutely find nowhere, but in Him alone, the imitation or the example of His life ... I search in vain to find the similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the Gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it.”
William Channing (Schaff, TPOC, 98-99) “The charge of an extravagant, self-deluding enthusiasm is the last to be fastened on Jesus. Where can we find the traces of it in His history? Do we detect it in the calm authority of His precepts? In the mild, practical and beneficial spirit of His religion; in the unlabored simplicity of the language with which He unfolds His high powers and the sublime truths of religion; or in the good sense, the knowledge of human nature, which He always discovers in His estimate and treatment of the different classes of men with whom He acted? ... The truth is, that remarkable as was the character of Jesus, it was distinguished by nothing more than by calmness and self-possession. This trait pervades His own excellencies.”
Philip Schaff (Schaff, TPOC, 97-98): “Is such an intellect --- clear as sky, bracing as the mountain air, sharp and penetrating as a sword, thoroughly healthy and vigorous, always ready and always self-possessed --- liable to a radical and most serious delusion concerning his own character and mission?”
The truth is, Jesus was not only sane, but the council He provided gives us the most concise and accurate formula for peace of mind and heart. The psychiatrist T. Fisher brings this out: “If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene --- if you were to combine them and refine them and cleave out all the excess verbage --- if you were able to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of the Sermon on the Mount... For nearly two thousand years the Christian world has been holding in it’s hands the complete answer to it’s (humankind’s) restless and fruitless yearnings. Here ... rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and contentment.”
If Jesus of Nazareth is not a liar nor a lunatic we have but one choice, He is who He said He is: the Son of God --- God incarnate!
"For unto a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the prince of peace."
ISAIAH. 7:14
"... the Lord Himself will give you a sign ;Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel."
JOHN 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
TITUS 2:13
"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Savior, Jesus Christ."
Matthew 16:16
“Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
John 11:27
“She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God,
who is to come into the world.”
John 20:28
“And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Mark 1:1“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”
Hebrews 1:3“who (Jesus) being the brightness of His (God’s)glory and the express image of His (God’s)person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
The Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ Deity. You can choose to accept the Truth or deny it. Heaven or Hell hangs in the balance --- but the choice is yours! But God wants you to be in Heaven with Him --- that’s why He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to suffer and die so that your sins could be forgiven and you can be in heaven with Him --- if you will but follow the Plan of Salvation as given in God's Word the Bible.
A friendly welcome awaits you. We do not wish to embarrass you in any way. You will not be asked for contributions. We assemble for Bible study and worship each Sunday morning and we welcome you to meet with us. We would be happy to talk to you about your questions and we want to be of encouragement.
Please contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com or 253-396-0290 for comments or further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.
4 comments:
Religion is most like a computer virus for brains. It comes complete with instructions for development and propagation of the virus, and code that prevents the person from deleting it or noticing that it doesn't conform to reality. It is orchestrated, organized, and officially sanctioned psychosis, made easily digestible and palatable to the masses.
Learn to think before you learn to believe, or you’ll soon believe that you don’t have to think.
Dear Brian the Godless,
Hmm... I wonder if you ever thought about examining the evidence for the existence of God and His Word, the Bible for yourself and the reality it contains of history, science, mathematics, confirmed Bible prophecies, etc --- and checking that against your "reality"? The question comes down to --- are you really seeking "truth," or just trying to justify your lifestyle? All the evidence is there if you will but take the time to examine it and to THINK about it honestly within yourself!
By the way, another definition of "religion" is man seeking after God --- the reality is God seeking man through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus [who is God incarnate] came and died for our sins because there was no other way for us to be reconciled to God [because of our sins]. God has shown His love for us in doing this [who else would die for you, a stranger to them?] ultimate sacrifice! He also has left us sufficient proof to know that it is true --- and to be obedient to His will because of that love, if we but choose to do so. He does not force anyone, but it is to your advantage to at least examine the evidence in-depth before making a decision that will affect your eternity [as you implied, just because your believe something to be “reality” does not make it so].
Peace my friend,
Dennis the truthseeker --- and a child of the Living God
I was raised christian. I prayed to jesus when I was 12 and it seemed he answered my prayers but then everything just became a nightmare. One horribe occurance after another up until now with me in my 40's. I feel like god and jesus are laughing at me and mocking me. They have let alot of evil people hurt and destroy me and he never does anything to them. At this point in my life I hate god and jesus. I hate christianity to and I think most of you christians are mean as hell. I don't beleive jesus was god. I don't beleive there is just one god either. I mean, who made him then? Maybe jesus came for the jews who god was pissed at, but I don't beleive jesus came for everyone. I think someone wrote that to get more members/donations for the church. I think alot of what christians say about jesus is hyped up. Alot of the truth has been twisted and changed and I don't think the new testament is accurate. Personally I am sick to hell of hearing about christianity, judism and satanism. I say the hell with all three of them. There is much more to life then the god of the jews and jesus, and because of these two religions, the truth has been hidden. I suggest you deep deeper and listen to pagans who know more of the truth about earth and how it was before the jews.
Dear Anonymous,
Very sorry to hear about all the bad things that have happened in your life --but they are almost always caused by sin [in this case it sounds like it is the sins of others], or by testing by God. God/Jesus are not mocking or laughing at you --- they are waiting for you to seek to be pleasing to God --- just as Job did even though he went through much more that any of us will ever go through [see the book of Job in the Old Testament]. Sin is disobedience to God’s instructions given in His Word. Sin almost always affects others than just the one responsible for it, sometimes for two or three generations (see Exodus 34:7). [see http://GoAndSinNot.blogspot.com].
If you will start to truly seek God, He will reveal Himself and His truths to you. A good place to start is to verify to your own satisfaction that the Bible is truly from God. The evidence is there if you will but take the time to examine it in an attitude of seeking God’s truths. [see http://BibleTruthsToU.blogspot.com and http://evidencestou.blogspot.com]. I can assure you will not find God in the pagan religions.
I am praying for you, my friend.
In the love of Jesus Christ,
Dennis Crawford
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