The Argument From The Character Of Jesus - The First Reason To Think Christianity Is True
This argument is an ancient one and goes back to the Church Father Origen.
This argument uses historical data to rule out “middle” or “fence sitting” positions about Jesus’ identity. Such an example of a fence sitting position would be the claim “Well, I’m ready to say Jesus was a good moral teacher, but I’m not willing to say he was God.”This is precisely the type of option the argument says one cannot take.
Formally stated, the argument goes like this:
Jesus claimed to be God.
Either that claim is true or it is false.
If true, then Jesus is God.
If false, then Jesus either knew it was false or he did not.
If he knew it was false and said it anyway, Jesus is a pathological liar.
If he didn’t know it was false, Jesus is severely insance.
Therefore, Jesus is either God, or a liar, or a lunatic.
Jesus was not a liar or a lunatic.
Therefore Jesus is God.
What is great about this argument is its simplicity. All you really need to do is to show that the first premise, Jesus claimed to be God is true, and that’s pretty easy to do for three reasons:
Reason #1: Jesus' Own Words And Actions Indicate He Thought He Was Divine
Christ said and did things that seem inexplicable if he thought he were only a man.
- He claims to be Yahweh (the name for God in the Old Testament) - John 8:58
- He says he has the power to judge and raise the dead. - John 5:25 (The Jewish belief was that God alone can judge or raise the dead.)
- He says he is the judge over all peoples and will separate them at the end of time. (Mt 5:31–45)
- He says he was before Abraham. (Jn 8:57–58)
- He says “All judgment has been given to the Son.” (Jn 5:22–23)
- He says he is the “door” through which men enter life, the “true vine” (Jn 15:1), the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” (Jn 14:6).
- He says he preexisted with the Father. (John 7:28–29)
- He says loyalty to him fulfills all of man’s deepest needs. (Mt 11:28–30; Mt 12:30; Mt 16:25; Mt 10:37–38; Luke 9:29; Luke 9:57)
Reason #2: The Earliest Followers Of Jesus Believed Jesus Was God
From the earliest of times, we find prayers addressed to Jesus.
In Peter’s sermons in Acts, Jesus is called:
- The “author of life” (Acts 3:15)
- The “judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42)
- The “Lord of all” (Acts 10:36)
In the Epistle of James: Jesus is called the “Lord Jesus Christ” (Jas 1:1)
In Paul, there are numerous places (far too many to list here) where Paul indicates he holds a divine view of Jesus, but to mention one Paul uses the phrase: “the Christ, who is God overall” (Romans 9:5)
REASON #3: Jesus' Divine Claims Best Explains The Crucifixion
The enemies of Jesus thought He claimed to be God too. If Jesus never claimed divinity, then it is very difficult to explain the charges of blasphemy (Mk 2:7; John 10:33; John 5:18; 8:59) and his subsequent execution.
Whether Jesus was God or not, let there be no mistake, that is AT LEAST what
Jesus thought of himself, that’s what his disciples thought of him, and that’s
what his enemies thought he was saying too.
But since the first premise is really the only premise that needs to be proven, the rest of the argument follows.
Jesus claimed to be God.
Either that claim is true or it is false.
If true, then Jesus is God.
If false, then Jesus either knew it was false or he did not.
If he knew it was false and said it anyway, Jesus is a pathological liar.
If he didn’t know it was false, Jesus is severely insane.
Therefore, Jesus is either God, or a liar, or a lunatic.
Jesus was not a liar or a lunatic.
Therefore Jesus is God.
So unless you are willing to say that Jesus was a pathological liar or a raving lunatic, it is reasonable to think who was who He claimed to be, that is God himself.
Therefore, it is reasonable to think that Christianity is true.