Problem, Solution
18February 11, 2013 by Cole Ryan
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C. S. Lewis
We’re broken, lost, misled. We have problems, we fall short, we’re not perfect. A lot of pastors like to use the size of the self-improvement section at your local book store as an example of that. I just like to look at the divorce and suicide rates. We are broken, it’s evident. The bible refers to this brokenness as sin. The thing is; it’s not our fault. The even better thing is; there’s a solution. And I know that you already know what I’m going to say, but before you write Him off, just think.. Jesus was real, He may not have been God, but He was definitely a real person. I mean, He even made such a significant impact that we base our time around Him..
We all put our faith in something, don’t we? It may not be God, it may be a person, or a product, or a philosophy, but we’re all counting on something – what we count on is what gives our lives purpose. I’m counting on the fact that this Jesus guy wasn’t lying when He said that He was God, because if He was, He’s a liar and an idiot that no one should look to for any kind of wisdom – but if He wasn’t, He’s God and He’s the answer to all of our problems. That’s why Jesus is either worth whole-heartedly following, or worth totally disregarding. Those are the only two logical ways to respond to His existence..
“Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.” C. S. Lewis
”There is a Being who made all things, who holds all things in His power, and is therefore to be feared.” Sir Isaac Newton
Relevant posts: Misconceptions - The Good News
You are not the only one to undergo a suffering like it is narrated in the post. But one has to be optimistic as it is rightly said “…the light of smiles shall fill again the lids that overflow with tears”.
Might it be worth considering, that Jesus was not God, but a part of God, also, we are NOT God, but again, might we consider being a part of God. Might we all be a child of God, here to learn to LOVE God, not fear God? May you be blessed even more as being a part of the whole, as broken hearts can and are mended?
Jesus is God and equal in all aspects of divinity. You are greatly deceived if you believe that Jesus is not God. He is a part of the triune Godhead . When Jesus walked the earth He was 100% God and 100% man.
I am confused about your post. You seem to have said in the first part that Jesus is not God; while in the second you said that He is. The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is God and like Tony said above, part of the triune Godhead. He is not only God, but He is the Savior of the world, the perfect sacrifice and the only one who God will accept to redeem us.
There are a great number of people–agnostics, Jews, muslims, pagans, even atheists–who find a great deal of wisdom in the teachings of Jesus. They don’t accept him as God, but they don’t completely disregard him either.
I know that.. and it doesn’t really make sense to me. Jesus proclaimed that He was God all throughout His life, if you (agnostics, Jews, muslims, pagans, even atheists) believe that He was lying about that, why would you look to Him for wisdom? Why would anyone listen to a liar?
The atheists I know don’t consider him to be lying on the few occasions where he claimed Godhood. I think most of them believe that a lot of the gospels are mostly made up. Regardless, the wisdom of the teaching is there. I think it’s pretty cool that the teaching is so solid that even those who don’t acknowledge a God find it to be of great use.
There is a famous quote from Ghandi where he commented that he very much liked Christ. He just wasn’t so keen on the Christians.
Good post!
Some people like to criticize religion belief as a “mental crutch” but as you wisely pointed out, we all put our faith in something, we’re all counting on something. Your problem/solution seems like a neat spin on Pascal’s Wager. Nice post and keep it up!
I recently just started my blog, and I am so blessed that God lead me to do so. Because If I hadn’t I would never have stumbled upon your blog. Thank you for presenting Jesus in a way that people can understand. Thank you for taking the time to make the gospel message simple and practical. My prayer…that someone who is searching sees this post.
Keep on cracking walnuts open. There are many things we puzzle and muse about, God does n’t mind, Jesus shows us this when we read of him answering difficult questions honestly asked.. Some walnuts are very hard.
I came across this post just after reading some very ridiculing posts about Atheists, of which I am one, but I can say that a Christian, such as yourself, is truly an inspiration for the religion. I love how you put this:
“We all put our faith in something, don’t we? It may not be God, it may be a person, or a product, or a philosophy, but we’re all counting on something – what we count on is what gives our lives purpose.”
That’s something I try to abide by when understanding people and their own beliefs and I think you’ll got down to the root of it all with just that part of it.
Thank you for filling the internet with more than just ignorance!
The top C.S. Lewis quote is one of my faves! Keep living for God wholeheartedly!
C S Lewis was a great Christian writer. And I like your straight talk – the whole answer lies in ‘Who do you think Jesus is?’ There can only be one conclusion
C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. I strongly agree that following Jesus is an all-or-nothing type of thing. Thanks for the great post! I look forward to more of your thoughts. :D
I’ve heard this thing before “I’m counting on the fact that this Jesus guy wasn’t lying when He said that He was God, because if He was, He’s a liar and an idiot that no one should look to for any kind of wisdom – but if He wasn’t, He’s God and He’s the answer to all of our problems. That’s why Jesus is either worth whole-heartedly following, or worth totally disregarding” and it is brutally aweful reasoning. Being wrong doesn’t make you a liar. Being a liar doesn’t make you an idiot. Moreover there are millions of liars holding outlandish, irrational beliefs, many of which are worthy of attention and capable of adding to the good of mankind in some regard. A good argument could be made we all fall into this category and I doubt you contend everyone should be disregarded.
Absolutely! As the old saying goes, “Our lives are like a coin; we can spend it any way we like, but we can only spend it once.”
I’ve always had mixed emotions about this argument. It is interesting, but the same objection to Pascal’s Wager could be used against it. There are many spiritual leaders who have claimed great things and were good people. I would say no other major leaders claim as great a claim or live as good a life, but that is much more debatable.
However, all in all it was a fantastic post.