When it comes to answering the question “who was Jesus?” perhaps the most famous set of answers was proposed by C. S. Lewis in his classic Mere Christianity. Lewis’ answer is occasionally referred to as the “trilemma,” due to the three possibilities:

1. Liar
2. Lunatic
3. Lord

Lewis’ rationale behind these answers lies in his belief that there is no logical reason for accepting Jesus as a “great moral teacher.” Lewis writes:

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 a 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. [1]

Lewis’ point is well-taken., and this three-fold designation has been the driving force behind many Christian apologists over the years (Wikipedia mentions Josh McDowell, Peter Kreeft, and Charles Colson). Yet in today’s society, we are obligated to offer a fourth answer:

4. Legend

Since the Enlightenment gave rise to “rationalistic” and “logical” thinking, Jesus as a historical figure has come under fire. Once you discount the miracles (as illogical, mythical, or make-believe) it becomes an easy move to discredit the Evangelists as “yes-men” to the early church’s wishes to fabricate a story about a man who never lived.

Like it or not, the Church cannot hide its head in the sand and refuse to engage with those who view the Gospels as unreliable (or worse, fictional). For many, “the Bible tells me so” is not good enough anymore.

 

     [1] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), 52.