Lord, Liar or Lunatic?

Here's a line of thinking that I've always found persuasive.

Jesus claimed to be God. Either he was crazy, or he was lying, or he was who he said he was.

This argument was famously put forth by C.S. Lewis in his influential book, Mere Christianity. Lewis said this:

"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 was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the 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 patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God."

Questions: 
Do the teachings of Christ appear to come from the mind of a mad man?
Does everything we know about Jesus suggest that he would lie about something as important as his identity?

Lord, Liar or Lunatic?

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for your incarnation, so that we might see the invisible God. Amen.


Extra Credit:

Some of the claims Christ made of his divinity:

1.  He forgave the sins of people he had just met, folks who hadn't sinned against him, Jesus the man. They had sinned against God. "Arise. Your sins are forgiven." Ex. Mark 2:5-10

2.  He allowed his disciples to worship him (Matt. 28:9). 
     Jews must worship only God (Commandment #1)

3.  He stated that he would return to judge the world at the end of time.

4.  He asserted that  his teachings were on par and equal to God's.
      "You've heard it said, "Thou shall not commit adultery, but I say to you . . . ."
        Matthew 5:21, 27, 38

5.  Direct statements:

          "I and the Father are one."   - John 10:30

          "When you've seen me you've seen the Father."  - John 14:9

          "Before Abraham was, I am."  - John 8:58

6.  He was crucified under the charge of blasphemy, claiming to be God.
     John 5:18, John 10:31-33, Mark 14:60-64

7.  He agreed with Thomas' declaration, "My Lord and My God!" - John 20:26

The Lord's Prayer

We call it the "Lord's Prayer," but it's really the Disciples' Prayer. It's the prayer Christ gave his disciples to pray.

Let's review this model prayer given to us by our Savior.

Question: What's the significance of the first word, "Our"?

Jesus expected that praying with others would and should be part of our discipleship. This basic, essential prayer is meant to be prayed with others, because meeting with others for prayer, worship and study is basic and essential for Christ-followers.

"Christianity is first and foremost a religion of community." - Martin Copenhaver

"Our Father"

The address is one of personal intimacy. The point is not maleness but closeness.

"One of the biggest mistakes people make when they think about God is to imagine God as impersonal."    - Eben Alexander, MD

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name."

"Hallowed" means holy. It's an expression of praise. Prayer begins by acknowledging the greatness, majesty and beauty of our God.

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

There are two primary reasons for prayer. The first is to commune/unite/become one with our God. The second is to seek to align our lives with the will and purposes of God. "Thy will be done, in my life, through me."

"Give us this day our daily bread."

Bread of course is a symbol for our basic daily needs. Your daily bread might be a job, a healing, a restored relationship, or indeed, it might even be bread. Ask God for the things you need.

"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

This is the most challenging part of the prayer and the only part Jesus commented on following it. We're to ask for forgiveness only to the degree that we're giving it to others.

"And lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

This part of the prayer is also designed to help us align our lives with the will of God. It also reminds us that spiritual battles, earthly temptations and even evil are all a part of the world in which we live.

"For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

This part of the prayer is not in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew & Luke. It was a common ending for ancient Jewish prayers. Thus it may be that Jesus indeed used this ending on occasion. Or it could be that the earliest Christians, all Jewish for a number of  years, added it to Jesus' original prayer.

Here's a thought: the Lord's Prayer takes me 22 seconds to pray (your actual mileage may vary). Perhaps prayers don't have to be long and wordy to be heard?

Prayer: Thank You, Gracious God, for this beautiful prayer. Help me to pray it with understanding and sincerity. Amen.


Extra Credit:   Debts vs Trespasses

Why do some Christians say "debts" and some say "trespasses" in the Lord's Prayer?

Matthew's version of the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) uses the word, opheiletes, which is Greek for debts. Luke's version (Luke 11:2-4) uses the word, hamartia, which is Greek word for sin. Following the Lord's Prayer in Matthew Jesus comments on the importance of forgiving others. For these comments the word paraptoma is used, which is Greek for trespasses. This seems to be the origin of the confusion.

In 1549 Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, published "The Book of Common Prayer." This work and its many versions since has become a classic of faith and spirituality, utilized by countless Christians of all denominations. Cranmer's version of the Lord's Prayer used the word, trespasses. And this version became the predominant one, even though it's not the word used in the Gospels. It's a bit of a sad story. It would be nice if Christians could agree on the Lord's Prayer. And in large part we do.

Justification

How can a mere mortal, an imperfect sinner have a relationship with a holy and perfect God? This is a question that Christianity seeks to answer.

Justification is the act by which a person is made right with God. The word itself  has a bit of a courtroom image to it.  How does a sinner get pardoned? How can one be declared righteous when one deserves a guilty verdict?

These questions played an important role in the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther claimed that a person is justified, sola fide, by faith alone. He based his claim on the Apostle Paul's teaching in the New Testament letters to the Romans and the Galatians.

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24).

"For we hold that a person is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law" (Rom. 3:28).

"Yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16)

Thus justification is by grace through faith. We can only have a relationship with God because God is gracious enough to extend it to us - through grace! And we accept this relationship by faith - faith in the goodness and grace of God and in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

 Our justification (pardon/acquittal) is not based on anything we've done. It's based on God's radical acceptance of us. Amazing Grace. And that's good news.

Prayer: Holy God, thank you for justifying me through your grace and graciousness. Help me to live out my gratitude to you this day and always. Amen.

Justice

Justice is a very important word in the Bible. Justice matters to our God. Take a look:

"What does the Lord require of thee? To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."   - Micah 6:8

"Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an everflowing stream."   - Amos 5:24

"You have neglected the weightier matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness."
- Jesus in Matt. 23:23

The concept of justice in the Bible is rooted in the very nature and character of God.

"He is the Rock, his ways are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."     - Deut. 32:4

Justice in the Bible is a personal and societal issue. We're to "do justice," to strive to make the world more fair, more just for all. We're also to build a society that is just and fair, one that protects the weak and defends the powerless.

Questions:

If justice is living in harmony with the ways of our God who is just, what are some of the ways that our society is in disharmony with God and justice?

Given the disparity between God's ways and the reality of our world, what does it mean for us to "do justice"?

Prayer:
God of Justice, help us to build a world that reflects your nature. Amen.


Extra Credit:

Jeremiah says that knowing God involves justice:

Are you a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. ¹⁶He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? says the Lord.          - Jeremiah 22:15-16


God speaks through Isaiah telling the people that spirituality and justice go hand in hand:

     Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. ⁴Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. ⁵

      Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? ⁶Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? ⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
     ⁸Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. ⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, ¹⁰if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.    - Isaiah 58:2-10

 

Just War Theory

                                  

The earliest Christians were pacifists. They took Christ's words very seriously - to love one's enemies, to turn the other cheek, to put down the sword. Living in an empire that was persecuting them perhaps made it easier for them to refuse to fight for the state. That changed when Constantine became a Christian (312 A.D.), and thus, so did the Roman Empire.

Therefore it fell upon Augustine and later Aquinas to work out the ethics involved in a "just war," one that Christians could support and fight in in good conscience.  Here's what they came up with:

Principles of Just-War Theory

1. Last Resort

A just war can only be waged after all peaceful options are considered. The use of force can only be used as a last resort.

2. Legitimate Authority

A just war is waged by a legitimate authority. A war cannot be waged by individuals or groups that do not constitute the legitimate government.

3. Just Cause

A just war needs to be in response to a wrong suffered.  Self-defense against an attack always constitutes a just war; however,  the war needs to be fought with the objective to correct the inflicted  wound.

4. Probability of Success

In order for a war to be just, there must be a rational possibility of success. A nation cannot enter into a war with a hopeless cause.

5. Right Intention

The primary objective of a just war is to re-establish peace. In particular, the peace after the war should exceed the peace that would have succeeded without the use of force. The aim of the use of force must be justice.

6. Proportionality

The violence in a just war must be proportional to the casualties suffered. The nations involved in the war must avoid disproportionate military action and only use the amount of force absolutely necessary.

7. Civilian Casualties

The use of force must distinguish between the militia and civilians. Innocent citizens must never be the target of war; soldiers should always avoid killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are only justified when they are unavoidable victims of a military attack on a strategic target.

Prayer: God of Peace, may our wars be few and when they cannot be avoided may they be just. Guide us in the paths of peace and justice. Teach the nations of the world a better way to work out our differences. In Your Holy Name. Amen.


Extra Credit: Food for thought:

Does modern warfare (smart bombs, drones, cyber attacks, etc.) help or hurt compliance with the principles of the "just war" theory?

Does the "war on terror" come into conflict with any of these principles?

Can an uprising of the people to overthrow an unjust government be harmonized with #2? (most Christian ethetists say yes)

Imago Dei

It's one of the most striking and profound passages in all the Bible:

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Theologians call it the "Imago Dei," the image or likeness of God. It's the idea that something in our inner nature reflects something vital about God. I get a kick out of the fact that what exactly this bold and beautiful claim means is never spelled out in scripture! I guess we're supposed to figure it out ourselves . . . .

Question: What is it within us that most reflects the character of God?

The most common answers to this question through the years are things like: our intelligence, personality, rationality and morality, our sense of justice, as well as the fact that we are spiritual and relational beings.

Here's a thought: The next person you see is a walking reflection of the character of God. Look for it.

Prayer: Thank You, God, that something in my essence is a reflection of who You are. Help me to let it shine! Amen.

Extra Credit

Theologians have written volumes about the Imago Dei, human beings made in God's image. One question that has been debated for centuries is this: Did the "Fall" of humanity and the introduction of sin into the world remove the Imago Dei? Most theologians today answer, no. The image of God within us is not wiped out by our sin. It is however sullied by sin. Therefore, salvation and sanctification are designed to restore the image of God within us.

Our true nature is a reflection of who God is. Our calling is to restore that image, to make that likeness within us visible and real.

The "I Am" Statements

Each of the 4 Gospels has its unique features. Matthew uses the phrase, "this happened to fulfill what was written by the prophet . . ." because Matthew's aim is to demonstrate that Jesus is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, foretold by the prophets. Mark uses the word "immediately" a lot, as he tells us story after story of a fast-moving Messiah. Luke pays special attention to the poor, to women and to prayer.

The key feature of the Gospel of John are the "I Am" statements of Jesus.

Here they are:

"I am the bread of life" (John 6:35, 48, 51)

"I am the light of the world" (John 8:12)

"I am the door of the sheep"(John 10:7, 9)

"I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11, 14)

"I am the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25)

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6)

"I am the true vine" (John 15:1, 5)

They're very similar to statements attributed to God in the Old Testament - "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt." They're also an intentional echo of the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush - '"I am who I am," said the Lord. Tell them 'I Am' has sent you" (Ex. 3:14). Jesus clearly has this in mind when he says, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). Poor grammar (in all due respect), amazing theology.

Question: Which of these statements is most meaningful to you? Which one best describes your experience of Christ?

Prayer: Thank You, Lord Jesus, for giving us a variety of ways to understand who you are for us. Amen.

Extra Credit:  Praying the "I Am's"

The goal of the Bible is to lead us to God. Therefore I always try to read scripture asking myself the question - how can I pray this into my life. Meditating on each of these statements would be one powerful way. Here's another way.

"I am the bread of life" (John 6:35,48,51).
           Feed me, dead Lord, with this Bread.

"I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).
          Shine your Light upon me and in front of me always.

"I am the door of the sheep"(John 10:7,9).
          Bless my going out and my coming in, O God. Lead me through your Door.

"I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11,14).
          I need You, Good Shepherd. Keep me close to your side.

"I am the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25).
          Help me to live in the New Life of your Resurrection, now and forever.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
          Help me to follow in your Way, to know your Truth, to be filled with your Life.

"I am the true vine" (John 15:1,5).
          Keep me connected to the True Vine that I might produce the fruit You desire.