Four Whys

Mark structured what later became the second chapter of his gospel around four questions, all of which begin with the word “Why?” (The other synoptics contain much of the same material, but not within a single chapter.) Two of these queries came from scribes, a third from the Pharisees, and another from the people. As we might expect, three of the four were challenges to the Lord’s authority; the other may have been simple curiosity.

In one memorable instance, they never even got to ask the question. Jesus correctly discerned what they were thinking and answered it before they could express it.

Witnessing to Witnesses [Part 4]

Jehovah’s Witnesses say the Bible is inspired and accurate but don’t accept its testimony about the deity of Jesus Christ.

That combination doesn’t work. It’s intellectually vacuous and spiritually dangerous.

The extent to which scripture parallels Jesus with Jehovah is a subject worth considering for all believers, whether or not you regularly encounter JWs in your travels. John wrote that the Father has given all judgment to the Son in order that “all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father”.

That’s the aim of this series.

Witnessing to Witnesses [Part 3]

Jehovah’s Witnesses profess to believe the Bible is the inspired and accurate word of God but reject its consistent testimony to the deity of Christ.

That combination doesn’t work. It’s intellectually vacuous and spiritually dangerous.

You may not regularly engage with JWs, but the extent to which scripture parallels Jesus with Jehovah (or YHWH, or in most Bibles, “the Lord”) is still a subject very much worthy of consideration. John wrote that the Father has given all judgment to the Son in order that “all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father”.

That’s the aim of this series.

Did Jesus Really Ever Claim to be God?

“Jesus was a good moral teacher. Sure, he had a special relationship with God and thought he was doing God’s work, but he never claimed to actually BE God. The idea that Jesus is God is something his disciples made up after his death”.

This statement or variations on it are very common. [It’s made by this particular Muslim, for one — Ed.] 

It is also erroneous.

If we are willing to sit down and examine the gospels, we will discover that on numerous occasions and in many ways Jesus claimed to be God.

Did Christ’s Disciples Concoct the Myth that He is God?

“I think,” someone once told me earnestly, “that Jesus’ teachings were good, but he was just an ordinary man. After he died, his followers invented the story about the resurrection and started talking as if he were God. They meant well, of course — they were only trying to gain more support for their new religion. But if Jesus had known that they’d made a god out of him, he would have been shocked.”

Many people like the idea of acknowledging Jesus as a great moral teacher, but they don’t want to recognize him as God. So they suggest that all his claims to deity in the gospels were added by over-zealous followers after his death. This hypothesis may be convenient to those who wish to pick and choose among Christ’s teachings, but is it true? Is it even logical?