We are in a sermon series that is taking us through the gospel of mark. The gist of the book is that a christian archeologist discovers a tomb in jerusalem that holds an ancient skeleton. He would either be a lunatic on the level with a man who says he is a poached eggor he would be the devil of hell. If jesus knew that he was not god, then he was making a deliberate misrepresentation, and he was a liar. Its clear that jesus claimed to be more than just human. Some 1900 years later, cs lewis, in his book mere christianity, gave a new take on st. Some people reject the idea that jesus was god incarnate. We have no problem with wisdom taken from the koran or the story of gilgamesh or the upanishads or any other book. Lewis formulated the argument as a trilemma, which is often referred to as the liar, lunatic, or lord argument.
I knew he wasnt a liar because everything he did was all about truth and it is resonated as truth and he said, i am the truth. This famous quote is taken from the book mere christianity it is perhaps the most famous quote on jesus outside of the bible. Many christians who attempt to provide themselves with some understanding or defense of their beliefs eventually run into the liar, lunatic, or lord argument provided by c. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he. Lewis makes this statement, a man who was merely a man and said the sort of things jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. Lewis believed so and also believed that he had a very good argument for convincing people to agree. He also briefly traced it back to the sixteenth century. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon. He was certain that no one could seriously argue for or accept these alternatives and that left only his favored explanation.
The idea that jesus was selfdeceived or delusional is simply not compatible with the impression he has left on history. Lewis quote on jesus as liar, lunatic, or lord from. He was either a liar, or he was a lunatic, he believed everything he was saying, he believed it about himself but he was mad, he was away in the head. Lewiss trilemma is an apologetic argument traditionally used to argue for the divinity of jesus by arguing that the only alternatives were that he was evil or deluded. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. Lewis suggested that, when it comes to christ, there are only three logical possibilities. This argument has occasioned a good deal of discussion, with major thinkers and biographers lining up on either side of the question of its validity. Theyll heap flattering laurels and accolades on him, calling him a religious revolutionary who ch.
In other words, maybe jesus did not really say the things the new testament records. The world will tell you that jesus christ was a good teachera noble moral leader, but nothing more. As you can see, jesus could only have been the lord, a liar or a lunatic, right. So viewing jesus as a lunatic is our second ridiculous option. Lewis who said that jesus is either liar, lunatic or lord. Based on josh mcdowells bestselling book, this tract introduces that jesus must either be a liar, lunatic or lord. It was transcribed from the tape, titled liar, lunatic or lord.
Lewis was adamant that this book was not meant to divide people but to present the fundamental principles of christianity, hence the name mere christianity. Lewis liar, lunatic, or lord trilemma faithlife blog. Is jesus christ a legend, lunatic, liar, or lord and god. I tried to give some of those reasons in my book what jesus demands from the world. And so there is an easy response to the false conclusion that because jesus called himself god, he must be a liar, a lunatic, or the lord.
We feel like weve had a conversation with you, and indeed we have. Lord, liar, or lunatic memoria press posted on june 6, 2019 by martin cothran some of the most interesting things to study when it comes to logic are the arguments for the existence of god. The idea that jesus called himself god is not historical. Lewis was a great scholar of 17th century english and obviously a popular author of childrens books and christian apologetics. My goal is to cover the entire book by easter sunday. Lord liar lunatic was jesus the lord, a liar, or a lunatic. If the bible were not the word of god, yet claimed. Lewis, following in the train of those who preceded him, argued along these lines. A person who claims to be god must belong to one of three. Giving you solid reasons to believe is a huge reason god gave you his book. In order to show that it is better to view jesus as lord than as either a liar or a lunatic, it would have to be demonstrated that there is some reason to take jesus claims seriously. Lewis quote on jesus as liar, lunatic, or lord from mere christianity i am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him that is, christ. Im ready to accept jesus as a great moral teacher, but i dont.
Lewis, i believe it makes the most sense to affirm that jesus is lord. Is jesus really whom he is reported to have said he was. Warner wallace, a coldcase homicide detective, lists the three. Some also refer to this argument as the mad, bad, or god view. Saying that lunatic, liar, and lord are our only three options is a dumb argument for christianity. The only other alternative is that he wasand isthe christ, the son of god, as he claimed. Many have argued that we do, that we have the strongest possible. No one who knows the gospels and human beings can seriously entertain the possibility that jesus was a liar or a lunatic, a bad man.
So who do you think christ is liar, lunatic, or lord. Im trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him. I said, well, either he was crazy or he was a liar or he was telling the truth. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. And so the choices are liar, lunatic, lord, or legend. But in spite of the logic and evidence, many people cannot seem to bring themselves to this conclusion. The gospel of john as the greatest evidence for or against jesus claim to be i am who i am eric deadwyler. And every fact about the skeleton points to it being the remains of. The lord portion of the liar, lunatic or lord argument is a condensed expression of a very extraordinary claim. Marsden suggests that two major critiques have been leveled at. Some say, jesus was a great moral teacher but he wasnt god. We have thirteen letters that he wrote and a short travelogue of his ministry the book of acts written by his personal physician, luke. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the homebrewed christianity guide to jesus. Ive attempted to show that jesus wasnt a legend, liar, or lunatic.
Obviously, not all these situations are plausible, but my point is this. Those talks were then compiled into a book called mere christianity. Its rather absurd to identify a firstcentury homeless jew as god revealed, but a bunch of us do anyway. Lewis author of the narnia series from his book mere christianity lets explore the topic of jesus true nature and identity. This sermon was delivered at portadown baptist church in portadown, northern ireland, by pastor david legge. One version was popularised by university of oxford literary scholar and writer c. There are good reasons against the view that the jesus of the new testament gospels is a legend. But this argument is unsound, because the first premise is false, because theres another option he was a legend and didnt really say these things after all. Lord liar lunatic now simply follow this lord liar lunatic logic tree. Lewis originally coined the argument in radio broadcasts and later in his book mere christianity. The problem with liar, lunatic, or lord the bart ehrman blog.
Do we have any reason, though, to take jesus claims seriously. A fourth option simply and logically does not exist. More than a carpenter esv, pack of 25 tracts 9781682161739 by josh mcdowell. The leaders thought he must be a liar or a lunatic. Lewiss trilemma is an apologetic argument traditionally used to argue for the divinity of jesus. I cannot personally conclude that jesus was a liar or a lunatic. In 1936, watchman nee made a similar argument in his book, normal christian faith. He was either a liar, in other words everything he taught, everything he was, everything he did, it was all a pack of lies. The jesus of the bible may not be a liar or a lunatic or a lord. As john wrote, these are written so that you may believe that jesus is the messiah, the son of god, and that by believing in him you will have life john 20. The argument that is unconvincing and without merit, in my opinion, is that jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, a legend, or god incarnate, and legend can be ruled out, so were back to the trilemma liar, lunatic, or lord. It is sometimes described as the lunatic, liar, or lord, or mad, bad, or god argument. Lord, liar, lunatic there are many people who are not persuaded by christianity but hold him in high regard.
Lord, liar, or lunatic by martin cothran memoria press. He is out of his mind let me remind you what we are doing. Lewis has made famous the trilemma that jesus must either be a lunatic, a liar, or the lord of all in his book called mere christianity. Mere christianity liar, lunatic, or lord youversion event. Im ready to accept jesus as a great moral teacher, but i dont accept his claim to be god. The liar, lunatic or lord argument attempts to present a case through process of elimination of all other options, that jesus christ must have been god. In 1994, he published a fiction book called a skeleton in gods closet. Lewis wrote in mere christianity that jesus was either lord, a lunatic, or the devil of hell. Even a number of theologians have pointed out that the liar, lunatic or lord. As william lane craig points out in reasonable faith, the first premise leaves out other possible options and is therefore false. Now we understand we must come to jesus and confess him as lord and abandon all the superficial niceties saying that hes a good teacher and we admire him. Lewis is remembered for a great many things, one of those being a clever argument he gave for jesus divinity.
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