What do you think about this stament made by C.S. Lewis?
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 said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a 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.
2006-07-27 10:30:57 · 39 answers · asked by (none) 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
A great statement for those who are intellectually honest.
2006-07-27 10:34:08 · answer #1 · answered by John 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
are there only 3 options.
why cant he be truthful person and a messenger of God. If you mean teacher when you say "Lord" , then yes , as a muslim ,we believe that.
LORD DOES NOT MEAN GOD
In the language of the Old Testament there are two distinct forms of the word "lord." One means God, the other a superior who is not God. The oracle which predicts the Messiah, the Lord Jesus (Ps. 110:1) gives him the title "lord," which refers to a person who is not God. To distinguish Deity from non-Deity, the Hebrew Old Testament speaks of the Lord God as ADONAI (449 times) and of superiors who are not God as ADONI (my lord) 195 times. In Psalm 110:1 the LORD (here Yahweh) addresses a prophecy to David's lord, the Messiah. Jesus and the New Testament writers, as well as the rabbis, knew that this was a prophecy about the Messiah (see the conversation in Matt. 22:41-46).
hope this answers.
QURAN (5:75) "Christ the son of Mary was no more than an Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how Allah doth make His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!"
2006-07-27 10:38:09 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have failed to reveal all of the facts. Does that make you a liar, an imbecile, or a manipulator ? Of course not !
You failed to reveal that C.S.Lewis was one of the great Christian evangelists in modern history, creating the C.S. Lewis Foundation, which is inspired by his life and legacy ; their mission is to advance the renewal of Christian thought and creative expression throughout the world of learning and the culture at large.
So, Lewis was as Billy Graham.
By omitting some facts, you reveal half-truths, and you surely cannot believe that means you are "leading people to the Lord".
Good Luck!
2006-07-27 10:41:55 · answer #3 · answered by SpongebobRoundpants 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think Lewis makes a great analysis here.
One thing is Lewis had an appreciation of history that most people lack today (particularly in the US).
To understand those claims, particularly in Jesus' day, you have no other choice.
Now it's easy to see Jesus' words as having merit, b/c Christianity has been pervasive and western culture has florished b/c of it. Back then those words would indeed have come from a lunatic if he couldn't back them up.
2006-07-27 10:37:04 · answer #4 · answered by Iridium190 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hummmm....... Why should we allow C.S. Lewis to patronize the rest of us and demand that we make a choice between two schools of thought ....and not three, four or five? My opinion should not be limited by another human being. I don't think Jesus was a demon or a lunatic. Although C.S. Lewis's Foundation is geared toward the advancement and renewal of Christian thought.... he forgot that there are millions of other people with different thoughts on religion and different paths to take.......quite frankly, he limited himself. I, myself, prefer to think freely.
2006-07-27 10:35:35 · answer #5 · answered by Primrose 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Believe in what you want to believe ,but I know that I want to accept Jesus as my savior and lord, all I know is that he is lord and God for now until we get to know the father of Jesus which is God in Jesus,and a person who say words of Jesus I would agree would not be a great moral teacher,but it is good to spread the teachings of Jesus at the right time! Don't get me wrong I ain't the "JOHOVAH WITNESS" But I must say that I do believe that Jesus is my lord and I do believe in him and do accept him as my lord,he is not any man you would call a fake or a demon but I dont like your point,but believe what you wanna believe,I am into Christianity and I am Christian!!!
2006-07-27 10:44:04 · answer #6 · answered by Lissa305 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus was a rabbi who taught some very good things and I believe he was enlightened about several important truths. He was not 'God' incarnate. I also believe he was a pawn who was exploited after his death by Paul, who was a little mad and wanted to be the next best thing to the Messiah -- a messianic PR guy who could more or less invent his own religion after the fact.
The "all or nothing" attitude about Jesus is for small minds only and is really lame, even for fundamentalist rhetoric.
2006-07-27 10:38:00 · answer #7 · answered by Sweetchild Danielle 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think this kind of response is only natural for anyone who feels betrayed by God. Lewis was intensely disciplined at Wynyard private school and suffered great traumatization from it. He developed a love for hurt and anguish thereafter and that was the basis for much of his writings.
C.S. Lewis is not a personality to use in case of argument. A better quote would probobly come from Napolean Dynamite.
2006-07-27 10:45:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
3 choices is all that could be possible? That box is too small to put anyone in. If I'm stuck with the 3, I would say at least a liar, possibly a lunatic.
More likely, he's the manifestation of the many previous myths all rolled into the newest and improved version of saviours.
2006-07-27 10:35:19 · answer #9 · answered by lifelover 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus may have intended many things, but the secret of his hold on humanity was and is his moral teachings, and precisely because to a great extent the teachings bordered on lunacy. It's the appeal of the unrealizable ideal that has fascinated us down through the ages.
2006-07-27 10:37:57 · answer #10 · answered by Grist 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Forget religion.
Christ is the path of salvation.
Christ is the truth of God's Word.
Christ is the life eternal.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Christ is the tree of life.
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
2006-07-27 10:33:20 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋