Jesus Complex Whatever we may make of their claims, one reality is inescapable. They are teachers who point to their teaching or show some particular way. In all of these, there emerges an instruction, a way of living. It is not Zoroaster to whom you turn; it is Zoroaster to whom you listen. It is not Buddha who delivers you; it is his Noble Truths that instruct you. It is not Mohammad who transforms you; it is the beauty of the Koran that woos you. By contrast, Jesus did not only teach or expound His message. He was identical with His message.4The truth of Zacharias's point is underscored by the number of times in the Gospels that Jesus' teaching message was simply "Come to me" or "Follow me" or "Obey me." Also, Jesus made it clear that his primary mission was to forgive sins, something only God could do. No other major religious leader ever claimed the power to forgive sins. And according to Huston Smith in The World's Great Religions, Jesus distinguished himself even further. Smith writes, Only two people ever astounded their contemporaries so much that the question they evoked was not 'Who is he?' but 'What is he?' They were Jesus and Buddha. The answers these two gave were exactly the opposite. Buddha said unequivocally that he was a mere man, not a god-almost as if he foresaw later attempts to worship him. Jesus, on the other hand, claimed . to be divine.5DID JESUS CLAIM TO BE GOD? Clearly, from the earliest years of the church, Jesus was called Lord and regarded by most Christians as God. Yet his divinity was a doctrine that was subjected to great debate. So the question-and it is the question-is this: Did Jesus really claim to be God (the Creator), or was his divinity something invented or assumed by the New Testament authors? Some scholars believe Jesus was such a powerful teacher and compelling personality that his disciples just assumed he was God. Or maybe they just wanted to think he was God. John Dominic Crossan and the Jesus Seminar (a fringe group of skeptical scholars with presuppositions against miracles) are among those who believe Jesus was deified in error. Others who say he didn't claim to be God include Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, Unitarians, and a few other religious groups outside the borders of traditional Christianity. Christians insist that Jesus did claim deity. As a deist, Thomas Jefferson had no problem accepting Jesus' teachings on morals and ethics while denying his deity.6 But as we've said, and will explore further, if Jesus was not who he claimed to be, then we must examine some other alternatives, none of which would make him a great moral teacher. (This is an excerpt from just one article in Y-Jesus. Order your copy here) |