“Jesus Christ is Lord.”
–Philippians 2:11
What is our ultimate goal? The Family Policy Institute of Washington aims to create a state where biblical values flourish. How do we achieve this? FPIW believes that for policies that honor God to be implemented, there must be a transformation of the heart. We also understand that heart change is a personal choice and cannot be compelled. Therefore, we will work to persuade Washingtonians to embrace Christ, one person at a time. Our three new booklets offer insights:
But why should a person embrace Christ? Let’s walk through the logic. As outlined in the Handbook of Christian Apologetics, there are six common views about the identity of Jesus of Nazareth:
(1) Myth Jesus never existed.
(2) Guru Jesus was a god, and we can all be gods who reach enlightenment.
(3) Teacher Jesus taught good ethics; he was only a rabbi.
(4) Lunatic Jesus was mentally insane.
(5) Liar Jesus lied about who he was.
(6) Lord Jesus was God, i.e., the Second Person of the Trinity.
Can Christians logically defend the sixth view that Jesus is God? Is our faith reasonable? Are faith and reason allies? Christianity answers, “Yes.”
(1) Myth. Christians reject the myth view often because other historians mention Jesus in addition to the four Gospels (Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn). For example, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (AD 37-100) wrote about Jesus in Antiquities of the Jews (c. AD 93-94), and the Roman historian Tacitus (AD 60-120) mentions Jesus in his book Annals (c. AD 109).
(2) Guru. Christians reject the guru view because gurus tend to say the “I” is an illusion, but Jesus does not. He acts and thinks within the Jewish tradition, which affirms a personal “I” and affirms God as a Person, rather than an impersonal energy source (e.g., enlightenment). Christianity rejects this view from New Spirituality.
(3) Teacher. Christians reject the “only a good teacher” view because Jesus did not leave that option open to us. The essay “The Divinity of Christ” explains:
Unbelievers almost always say He [Jesus] was a good man, not a bad man; that He was a great moral teacher, a sage, a philosopher, a moralist, and a prophet, not a criminal, not a man who deserved to be crucified. But a good man is the one thing He could not possibly have been according to simple common sense and logic. For He claimed to be God. He said, “Before Abraham was, I Am,” [John 8:58] thus speaking the word no Jew dares to speak because it is God’s own private name, spoken by God himself to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus wanted everyone to believe that He was God. He wanted people to worship Him. He claimed to forgive everyone’s sins against everyone. (Who can do that but God, the One offended in every sin?)
C. S. Lewis outlines the logic in his classic Mere Christianity:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said [e.g., claiming to be God; wanting people to worship Him; forgiving everyone’s sins] would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. 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. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form.
The irony is that those who loved Jesus the most, i.e., the Apostles, knew exactly who He claimed to be. And those who hated Jesus the most knew exactly who He claimed to be – e.g., the Jewish religious leaders of the day who plotted His brutal crucifixion. Neither His friends nor His enemies were confused. Rather, it is modern people who tend to be more lukewarm – e.g., “only a good teacher.”
[Note for clarity on terms: Christianity proclaims that Jesus is consubstantial (with substance, of the same substance) with the Father. The term God in scripture can mean either “the Trinity,” or it can mean “a specific individual person of the Trinity, i.e., the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit”.]
(4) Lunatic. Christians reject the lunatic view because lunatics are eventually boring, but Jesus never bored anyone. He left people stunned and shocked. He was always creative and loving and wise. The most common description of Jesus in the Greek is thauma, “wonder.” (For more details on His impact on people, try the book Jesus-Shock.)
(5) Liar. Christians reject the liar view because liars usually want something, such as power or money. But Jesus was compassionate and unselfish toward people. He was willing to suffer and die on a cross.
In sum: “Jesus was either God, or a bad man.” As the classic Latin version says, Aut deus aut homo malus (Either God, or a bad man). If He was not a bad man, then He was who He claimed to be.
Again, for those who are interested in more depth on this topic, try “The Divinity of Christ,” “Resurrection Evidence,” or the Handbook of Christian Apologetics. If you prefer movies, a good one is: The Case for Christ. It shares the true contemporary story of how an atheist investigative reporter used logic, reason, and evidence to become a Christian. He followed the logic and the facts, and he found the Truth.
Will you join us in transforming the culture one heart at a time by introducing people to Jesus?
- Want to Change Our Culture? 500,000 DEFENDER Prayer Warriors Are Needed.
- Want to be Heard in Olympia? 200,000 DEFENDER Activists for Political Power Are Needed.
- Want to Change Washington’s Laws? 450,000 DEFENDER Signers of Initiatives & Referendums Are Needed.
- Want Lasting Change? 1.7 Million DEFENDER Voters for Conservative Candidates Are Needed.
Join us! Please sign up to become a DEFENDER today.
