Isaiah 42-44 || Jesus among other religions, part 11

Yesterday we heard that argument that Jesus called himself the Son of God, but what is this “Son of Man” stuff all about? Today’s apologetics segment.

Yesterday I attended TEDxPortland, one of the largest in the country and even the world, and I was struck at how much conversation I had going on in the context of worldviews being presented. You might argue that the voices in my head are reason to start some meds, but I’m thinking that growing as a Christian casemaker has the benefit of helping you grow in discernment…something we are all called to do.

Bible segment: Reading along with The Bible Project

Translation: ESV (English Standard Version)

Our reading: Isaiah 42-44

Apologetics segment: Gary Habermas and Jesus’ uniqueness

My running summary and comments of the key ideas so far:

• In modernity, a common objection is “science is real” and “religion is opinion.”

• While we should test everything, including miracles, there are six places to test to see if Jesus’ claims were unmatched by founders of other major religions (it’s a beautiful thing about Christianity – it’s testable).

• #1: Jesus claimed to be deity.

o Buddha didn’t, and whatever spiritism or divinity is part of some Buddhist practices in China didn’t really develop until 700 years later.

o Like Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism began more reservedly, and they later evolved into “more phenomenal, mystical, and occultic versions.” (p16) Some historians speculate that this happened, in part, due to competition for followers – they got more sensationalistic to attract attention.

o Conclusion – in terms of self-claim to deity, these “naturalistic ethical, social, and political thinkers” (p16) are not rivals to Jesus.

o What about other “prophets?”

 Zoroaster, chief prophet of the Persian religion never claimed to be deity.

 Muhammad, is certainly not elevated to deity – in fact, a core tenet of Islam is that a human elevating themselves to equality with God is unforgivable blasphemy (you can see why they then have to purport a historically-distorted Jesus!).

 And the Old Testament – the Hebrew scriptures of Judaism? Their prophets certainly are not deified either.

o What about Krishna? Reports conflict, including as to whether or not Krishna actually existed or is just a poetic device. Too, the Hindu idea of deity isn’t exactly what we think of compared to the “one god-ism” of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – you yourself might ultimately attain to such a status as have millions of others. Worse, the time-distance between Krishna and the earliest writings is thousands of years.

• Evaluating Jesus’ claims from early sources.

o “Son of God” – Jesus both claimed this and, relatedly, spoke of his Father in familiar-but-uncommon ways.

o “Son of Man” – Jesus isn’t called “Son of Man” in a single NT epistle; it was entirely his own self-designation.

Take Action

Your personal prayer reading: Psalm 119:1-32

Gary Habermas, “The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ Among the Major World Religions” (Lynchburg, VA: GaryHabermas.com, 2016). http://www.garyhabermas.com/Evidence2/Habermas-Uniqueness-of-Jesus-Christ-2016.pdf. Accessed April 17, 2019.

Twitter: @joinforthehope

Instagram: @joinforthehope

#ForTheHope