"I and the Father are one" (John 10:30, NIV).
Many skeptics refuse to think of Jesus as anything but a moral teacher and even an example or model for man, denying His deity in the process. But Jesus didn't want to be known as just a great moral teacher or example, but as our Lord and Savior--He didn't leave us that option! If He were not who He claimed to be, He wouldn't be great at all, but evil and an impostor. When I say that He was not a great teacher, I'm saying He wasn't particularly that, limiting Him--He was that and more! And so the title is not contradictory according to the law of noncontradiction: nothing can be something and not be something at the same time, in the same sense!
Jesus could have been a demon who had powers to deceive, but could a demon say the things He did and can a demon open the eyes of the blind (cf. John 10:21), as they murmured? His wise reflections and teachings are not the rantings and ravings of a madman, but the Words of God. George Gordon, Lord Byron said that "if ever man were God or God-man, Jesus was both." His personality is as normal and balanced as anyone who ever lived, and the moral precedent He set has never been equaled, excelled, nor surpassed, neither by predecessor nor by follower and worshiper.
C. S. Lewis has said that He was either a liar, lunatic or Lord; there is ample proof He wasn't legend and no one in their right mind would call Him the devil! If He were a liar, wouldn't the disciples have had him pegged and figured out after three years? Lunatics and imposters, like Elvis impersonators, are easy to spot and can be ruled out because their lives belie their claims and they don't have the credentials.
Jesus didn't just say He was the Son of God, but proved it by His life and good works, especially miracles. Even famed atheist Bertrand Russell didn't begrudge Him the highest of morality and principle! John Stuart Mill, considered by some scholars to be the most intelligent man who ever lived, called Jesus the guide of humanity, though he was no Christian.
If a psychologist were to analyze Him, and he is beyond our ability to analyze or peg, he would find a perfectly balanced person who is well adjusted and with no inner conflict, issues or baggage. He has all the traits of a normal person and besides that, the ideal man's personality with no flaws whatsoever--He's the ideal standard to judge by, the most well-adjusted personage known! There's absolutely nothing abnormal about Him and certainly no evidence of mental illness or tendency at all.
You can tell something about a person by their followers, and Christ not only laid down the highest ethics in the Golden Rule but also served as the highest incentive to practice it! The disciples were of high moral fiber and laid down their lives for their testimony; it is a known fact that people will die for what they believe is true, but not for a known lie! The disciples were in a position to verify and know whether He rose from the dead or not, and died as martyrs to test the veracity of their claim.
We don't refer to Jesus in any human category: Not just Jesus the Great, which sounds quite insulting and doesn't behoove Him, nor just the Exemplar of mankind to live by or martyr to inspire us to a good cause. He is not just our example or leader, which He is, but also our Savior (that was His mission!). If you don't accept Him for who He is (God come in the flesh), you are rejecting Him; you cannot declare you are willing to accept Him as your teacher or guide only without reference to His offices as prophet, priest, and king and His authority as Lord and Savior. We come to Him on His terms, not vice versa! Soli Deo Gloria!
Many skeptics refuse to think of Jesus as anything but a moral teacher and even an example or model for man, denying His deity in the process. But Jesus didn't want to be known as just a great moral teacher or example, but as our Lord and Savior--He didn't leave us that option! If He were not who He claimed to be, He wouldn't be great at all, but evil and an impostor. When I say that He was not a great teacher, I'm saying He wasn't particularly that, limiting Him--He was that and more! And so the title is not contradictory according to the law of noncontradiction: nothing can be something and not be something at the same time, in the same sense!
Jesus could have been a demon who had powers to deceive, but could a demon say the things He did and can a demon open the eyes of the blind (cf. John 10:21), as they murmured? His wise reflections and teachings are not the rantings and ravings of a madman, but the Words of God. George Gordon, Lord Byron said that "if ever man were God or God-man, Jesus was both." His personality is as normal and balanced as anyone who ever lived, and the moral precedent He set has never been equaled, excelled, nor surpassed, neither by predecessor nor by follower and worshiper.
C. S. Lewis has said that He was either a liar, lunatic or Lord; there is ample proof He wasn't legend and no one in their right mind would call Him the devil! If He were a liar, wouldn't the disciples have had him pegged and figured out after three years? Lunatics and imposters, like Elvis impersonators, are easy to spot and can be ruled out because their lives belie their claims and they don't have the credentials.
Jesus didn't just say He was the Son of God, but proved it by His life and good works, especially miracles. Even famed atheist Bertrand Russell didn't begrudge Him the highest of morality and principle! John Stuart Mill, considered by some scholars to be the most intelligent man who ever lived, called Jesus the guide of humanity, though he was no Christian.
If a psychologist were to analyze Him, and he is beyond our ability to analyze or peg, he would find a perfectly balanced person who is well adjusted and with no inner conflict, issues or baggage. He has all the traits of a normal person and besides that, the ideal man's personality with no flaws whatsoever--He's the ideal standard to judge by, the most well-adjusted personage known! There's absolutely nothing abnormal about Him and certainly no evidence of mental illness or tendency at all.
You can tell something about a person by their followers, and Christ not only laid down the highest ethics in the Golden Rule but also served as the highest incentive to practice it! The disciples were of high moral fiber and laid down their lives for their testimony; it is a known fact that people will die for what they believe is true, but not for a known lie! The disciples were in a position to verify and know whether He rose from the dead or not, and died as martyrs to test the veracity of their claim.
We don't refer to Jesus in any human category: Not just Jesus the Great, which sounds quite insulting and doesn't behoove Him, nor just the Exemplar of mankind to live by or martyr to inspire us to a good cause. He is not just our example or leader, which He is, but also our Savior (that was His mission!). If you don't accept Him for who He is (God come in the flesh), you are rejecting Him; you cannot declare you are willing to accept Him as your teacher or guide only without reference to His offices as prophet, priest, and king and His authority as Lord and Savior. We come to Him on His terms, not vice versa! Soli Deo Gloria!
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