Was Jesus a Liar, a Lunatic or Lord (C.S. Lewis) He Definitely Wasn’t Lord, So… Who Was Jesus?

I don’t believe Jesus was God. He definitely wasn’t born of a virgin, he definitely didn’t rise from the dead, and he is not coming back. So what about what C.S. Lewis’ comment? Well those aren’t the only options, but he definitely wasn’t Lord, so … what was He? #deconstruction #christiandenomination #jesus

The “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord” argument is a trilemma that C.S. Lewis presented in his book Mere Christianity. The argument is based on the idea that Jesus claimed to be God, and that his claim must be either true or false. The argument is as follows:

Liar: If Jesus made his claims knowing he wasn't God, then he was lying to his followers.

Lunatic: If Jesus said he was God, but was actually mad, then he is a lunatic.

Lord: If Jesus' claim is true, then he is the Son of God.

Lewis also said that a man who was just a man and said the things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic or the Devil of Hell.

[rosalindc]

I like CS Lewis even now, 22 years after deconverting. But, Mere Christianity never gave me a sense of a solid argument, even when I read it as a child. It’s always struck me as an intellectual person going through mental gymnastics to square a worldview that honestly does not make sense.

[PseudoIntellectual.]

Thanks for your videos! You are helping a lot of confused former religious people such as me. Your cheerful demeanor is infectious. Let me buy you a soda!

[kathleenwharton]

Jesus was a Man tempted of the Devil to enjoy Power and Prestige and He Gave it all up to Serve. He Gave us Commandments in the Sermon on the Mount to Help us live in Peace and He Forgave and Healed the poor humble and forgotten people. He Corrected the Pharisees. Many people expected Him to Save them from the Romans but that was not His Mission. He Came to Teach us Spiritual Truths..not worldly success. He is my Best Friend..Redeemer and Restorer. And helping me Now Heal from many years of being beaten down by modern day Pharisees and world Bullies 😊❤

[autumnsmith]

I take all things into consideration and realize Jesus may be who he said he was, but it is just as likely any other situation. We really Don't know. I miss Jesus since my conversion out of Christianity, but I don't enjoy Jesus' followers which was a MAJOR contributer of my leaving. I am trying to reconcile Jesus in my pantheon, without all the baggage and connotation of Christianity.

[JohnOrbit]

I LOVED (still love?) C.S. Lewis, but I'm really liking the tone of your video here. I mean, everybody weighs in on what they thought Jesus was all about. How about admitting (like I finally did) that we have NO F**KING IDEA what he (He?) was all about!

[scottred]

Actually, the literary character called “Jesus” was not Lord, Liar OR Lunatic … rather he is best described as Legend.

[mender]

I heard that there is a fourth "L", and that is Legend.

[aaronparker]

None of the above. His story is mostly Legend.

[leongkhengneoh]

We have plenty of Liars and Lunatics but no Lord

[deborahabc]

He was a man who lived thousands of years ago.

[ducksauss]

Liar, Lunatic, or Lord? I would say Legend is more like it. You could throw in an 'A' as in Allegory as well.

[wiskadjak]

C. S. Lewis really over did it on the aliteration. I think one could add unlucky to that line. According to Josephus, Pilate would have crucified his own grandmother if he thought she was a threat to Roman order. Just the wrong time to be a religious reformer.

[RichLunaMusic]

Jesus was more of a symbol for awakening. That's the most logical and reasonable explanation that these things point to. People have just taken that way out of left field and literally.

Happy Wednesday!

[rebeccazegstroo]

Many long years ago a TV ad had a cartoon guy saying something like dirty ratchafrachin when he was annoyed. Now that I'm old and stiff and achy I expand on that and throw in random syllables, so I've ended up with my own pain language. No, I don't think I'm subconsciously praying. Legend seems like the right word for Jesus. Poor guy, if there is a tiny grain of truth in the middle. Crucifixion is brutal along with many other ways humans have thought up to make other humans miserable. You know, cuz of that objective morality written on all our hearts.

[AlanObrien-ifie]

Jesus was neither liar lunatic or lord he's a legend just like zeus

[Mr.PhatsVarietyVibesShow]

JC was misunderstood victim of history

[rutha]

He never used deodorant or brushed his teeth. By today's standards, his clothing would surely be rank. But oh, when he opened his mouth! His true beauty unfurled. Had he only moved a generation, it would have been remarkable. But now, two millennium his words still inspire and change lives.

[mailill]

My take (before watching the video): Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who preached radical charity and selflessness, and probably also that Doomsday was very close (unless that part was added later by some of the Christians after his death, who knows! Or maybe it wasn't meant in a literal way - or maybe it was), who died for his beliefs (and maybe was seen like a threat to people in power, both by the Pharisees and the Romans). Then, after his death, he was "wrapped" by his followers in well-known, well-accepted (though maybe not believed in a literal way???) common Greek-Roman myths (mythical tropes/motives) about semi-Gods (human mother + a god as a father) and heroes and emperors who were deified after their death. The miracles, the missing body and the ascension story fits into common mythical tropes about deified heroes at the time. They are not identical, but still there are many similarities (if anything there might have been a point for the authors of these stories to show that he was even a much better person than the Greek-Roman heroes and semi-gods):
Jesus walking on water, just like the Greek gods Orion, Poseidon and Hermes; changing water to wine like the Greek god Dionysius; healing the blind and raising the dead like the Greek god Asclepius (but Asclepius only healed those who were ritually "clean/pure", while Jesus healed everyone regardless of purity). Or Jesus being born of a human mother and with a god as a father, kind of similar to the Greek & Roman gods or/and heroes Romulus (and Remus), Asclepius, Ion, Helen, and in a way Caesar Augustus (who claimed his adopted father was a god*) etc ... Also, the eyewitnesses stories "confirming" that Jesus rose from the dead (disappearing body is also a part of the Greek-Roman mythological apotheosis trope) and then ascended and after that was seen by his followers as a god, were in many ways very similar to eye-witness-tropes in the myths about Romulus, Asclepius, Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus. It wasn't uncommon during the time both before and after the time of Jesus' birth that ascension/apotheosis stories were told about Roman emperors after their death.


Jesus is also a symbol of our highest potential and our best ideals.

*Edit: I removed Julius Caesar from the list of demi-gods, as I was actually thinking of his adopted son Caesar Augustus who deified his adopted father and claimed to be "son of a god" (who was once human) - but it was also rumored that he (Augustus) was the son of Apollo

[GeoffreyMorrison-xheo]

Nailed it: Didn't have to exist ...

[Mel.H_]

I just love your honesty and humor ❤ The song Hallelujah by ICP is one of my favorites exposing the hypocrisy and it's hilarious 😂unfortunately lol