Part Fourteen: Examples of questions that challenge skeptics who reject Jesus Christ and His resurrection.
The ultimate, far-reaching, watershed question confronting the entire human race in every generation is who is Jesus Christ? Unfortunately, the Christian (biblical) understanding of who is Jesus has many competitors. Other religions besides Christianity try to answer this question. Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet, but not divine. Hindus consider Him to be an avatar, an incarnation of Vishnu. Buddhists call Jesus an enlightened one. New Agers view him as a man who realized his “divine potential.” Jehovah Witnesses claim that Jesus was a lesser god created by Jehovah. Mormons teach that Jesus is the spirit-brother of Lucifer. If any of these non-Christian religions are correct, if Jesus is a lesser god or a mere human, such as Mohammed, Buddha, or Joseph Smith, Christianity is a sham because only Christians acknowledge Jesus to be God in human flesh, the second member of the Trinity.
In this and the following blog article, I will present a series of questions that challenge non-Christians to explain and defend some of their well-known—but erroneous—assumptions about the deity and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The purpose of these questions is to stimulate conversations that lead to opportunities for Christians to share the biblical revelation (the truth) about Jesus and His resurrection.
1. “According to a magazine article I recently read, the early church fabricated the stories and sayings of Jesus!”
• “How do you know the article is true? Was it based on historical documentation or the speculations of Bible critics?”
• “Where or how are the words of Jesus fabricated?”
• “Who in particular did the fabrication?”
• “Why would anyone in the early church want to fabricate a lie about Jesus, whom they worship?”
2. “The doctrine of the Trinity was invented by the church in the fourth century!”
• “Then why are there references to the Trinity before the fourth century?”
• “What historical evidence do you have for claiming that, especially when the triune nature of God is clearly taught in the Bible?”
• “Why would anyone invent such a perplexing doctrine as the Trinity if they wanted to manufacture a new religion?”
• “The Bible reveals there is only one God. Yet it also reveals that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all share identical attributes. How do you explain this, other than the triune nature of God?”
3. “Jesus never claimed to be God!”
• “If Jesus didn’t claim to be God, why did His enemies (the Jewish leaders) attempt to stone Him and eventually had Him crucified?”
• “Which makes the most sense to believe: the eyewitnesses and their close associates who wrote the New Testament—and insisted that Jesus claimed to be God and proved it—or people who deny it two thousand years later?”
4. “Jesus may have been a good man or even a prophet, but He isn’t God!”
• “If Jesus claimed to be God, claimed to have the authority of God, had all the attributes of God, and performed miracles only God can do, why do you say He isn’t God?”
• “Let’s think about this. If Jesus claimed to be God, He either is God or He is a liar or a lunatic. Tell me, what is there about Jesus that makes you think He is a liar or crazy?” ©
In next week’s blog article, I will provide additional examples of Socratic questions that challenge skeptics who reject Jesus Christ and His resurrection to rethink the legitimacy of their views.
This series of blog articles is adapted from my book The Christian Combat Manual: Helps for Defending Your Faith; A Handbook for Practical Apologetics, which can be purchased at most outlets. The Combat Manual gives the Christian position on this issue and evidence to support it.