Christological Argument - Argument From The Claims of Jesus To Divinity

Argument From The Claims of Jesus To Divinity

See also: Lewis's trilemma

A related line of evangelical argument addresses the notion that Jesus Christ was a great philosopher and ethicist, but not God. It draws on the Trilemma as postulated by C. S. Lewis and others, which argues that Jesus claimed to be God, and either this claim was true and Jesus was in fact divine, or else he was a charlatan or a madman. Assuming the trilemma to be accurate, the argument proceeds in stating that neither a charlatan or a madman could be considered a great moral teacher and that therefore the possibility of Jesus being merely a great moral teacher is excluded.

The argument conditionally argues for the existence of God; it relies on the premise that Jesus was a great moral teacher. The structure of the argument is as follows:

  1. Jesus claimed to be God
  2. Jesus was a wise moral teacher
  3. By the trilemma, Jesus was dishonest, deluded or God
  4. No wise moral teacher is dishonest
  5. No wise moral teacher is deluded
  6. By 2 and 4, Jesus was not dishonest
  7. By 2 and 5, Jesus was not deluded
  8. By 3, 6 and 7, Jesus was God
  9. By 8, God exists

Read more about this topic:  Christological Argument

Famous quotes containing the words argument, claims, jesus and/or divinity:

    “My argument is that War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading.”
    —Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)

    “All claims of education notwithstanding, the pupil will accept only that which his mind craves.”
    —Emma Goldman (1869–1940)

    “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”
    —Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 16:23.

    Said to Peter, who had suggested that Jesus not go into Jerusalem to meet his fate.

    “Here we also see: what this divinity lacks is not only a sense of shame—and there are also other reasons for conjecturing that in several respects all of the gods could learn from us humans. We humans are—more humane.”
    —Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)