The document discusses arguments for the divinity of Jesus Christ. It presents evidence from the Gospels where Jesus claims to be the Son of God and equal to God. Jesus also claimed to be sinless, able to forgive sins, and able to save people from sin and death. The document then considers arguments against Jesus' divinity, such as that the disciples lied or were delusional, but finds these alternatives even less likely than Jesus truly being the Son of God. It concludes that Jesus was either God, a liar, or lunatic, and that the moral and historical evidence point to him being divine.

1. The Divinity
of Christ
Pocket handbook of
Christian Apologetics
Chapter 8
Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli

2. In conversation with
a friend they ask you
why you believe
Jesus is the only Son
of God?
What arguments and
evidence would you
give in response?
Role play to present /
assess your answers

3. There is a problem when looking at the
identity of Jesus Christ - we look at the
Gospels (all 4 of them) - and a
shockingly strong claim is made.
Jesus called himself the “Son of God”
- he claimed to have the same nature
as God and called God his Father.
Jn 10:30, 14:9
“I and the Father are one.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me,
Philip, even after I have been among
you such a long time? Anyone who
has seen me has seen the Father.

4. Jesus claimed to be sinless:
Jn 8:46 Can any of you prove me
guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth,
why don’t you believe me?
Lk 5:21 The Pharisees and the
teachers of the law began thinking
to themselves, “Who is this fellow
who speaks blasphemy? Who can
forgive sins but God alone?”
Only the one who is offended by sin
can claim the right to forgive - and
ultimately that has to be God.

5. Jesus claimed to save us from sin
and death:
Jn 11:25
Jesus said to her, “I am the
resurrection and the life. The one
who believes in me will live, even
though they die;
Matt 25:31-46
Jesus claimed he would return at
the end of the age to judge all of us.
Jn 6:51
I am the living bread that came
down from heaven. Whoever eats
this bread will live forever.

6. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter - something
that for a Jew only God could do - a name revealed
your true identity which was given by God alone.
Jn 1:42
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of
John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when
translated, is Peter).
In the OT God alone changed names - and with
them destinies - Abram, Sarai, Jacob - illegal name
changing resulted in excommunication for orthodox
Jews.

7. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter - something
that for a Jew only God could do - a name revealed
your true identity which was given by God alone.
Jn 1:42
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of
John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when
translated, is Peter).
In the OT God alone changed names - and with
them destinies - Abram, Sarai, Jacob - illegal name
changing resulted in excommunication for orthodox
Jews.

8. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter - something
that for a Jew only God could do - a name revealed
your true identity which was given by God alone.
Jn 1:42
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of
John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when
translated, is Peter).
In the OT God alone changed names - and with
them destinies - Abram, Sarai, Jacob - illegal name
changing resulted in excommunication for orthodox
Jews.

9. Jesus kept pointing at
himself and telling people to
come to him - Matt 11:28.
Buddha said, “Look not to
me: look to my dharma
(doctrine),” he also said “Be
lamps unto yourselves” Jesus said, “I am the light of
the world” - Jn 8:12
Lao Tzu taught the way (tao);
Jesus said, “I am the way”
Jn 14:6

10. Buddha, Confucius and
Muhammad fulfilled no prophecies,
did no miracles, and did not rise
from the dead.
Jesus did all of these.
Jesus invited death (by stoning or
crucifixion) by saying Jn 8:58 NLT
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth,
before Abraham was even born, I
AM!”
Or before Abraham was even born,
I have always been alive; Greek
reads before Abraham was, I am.

11. The importance of the issue
1. The issue of the divinity of Christ
is a distinctively Christian one - a
Christian has to be defined as
someone who believes this.
2. This is the key to unlocking many
other doctrines within the Christian
faith - many are believed on the
basis of the divine authority of
Christ who taught them, so that
they are written in the Bible and
taught in the church.

12. If Christ was only human he
could have made mistakes therefore if you want to disagree
with Christ this is a good point to
argue against! Note that there are
teachings which probably all of us
find hard and might want to
disagree with.
Note here: we as believers are
very familiar with it so we find it
far easier to believe.
What’s So
Objectionable About
Wife Beating?

13. Kreeft states,
If Christ was only human he to
“Christians ought
could have made mistakes realise how difficult,
therefore if you want to disagree
with Christ this is a good point to
how scandalous, how
argue against! Note that there are
objectionable, how
teachings which probably all of us
find hard apparently to
and might want
disagree with.
unbelievable and
Note here: we as believers are
absurd this itdoctrineit is
very familiar with so we find
farbound believe.
easier to to appear to
others.”
What’s So
Objectionable About
Wife Beating?

14. Clues to the possibility of this doctrine
Kreeft offers six clues
which are designed to talk
of the possibility of God
becoming man - in the
following section we shall
see how this happened in
Jesus.

15. 1. CS Lewis calls the incarnation
“myth become fact” - in fact in many
mythologies there are similar ideas of
a god who came down from heaven,
died and rose to life for the life of man
- e.g. Odin, Osiris
[The garden of Eden and the flood
also make similar appearances]
It is argued that because of these
parallels that there cannot be validity
in the Christian story, it is false - Kreeft
suggests the more foreshadowings of
an event the more likely it is to have
occurred / will occur.

16. 1. CS Lewis calls the incarnation
“myth become fact” - in fact in many
mythologies there are similar ideas of
a god who came down from heaven,
Osiris is an to life for god, of man
died and roseEgyptian the lifeusually
identified as
- e.g. Odin, Osiris the god of the
afterlife, the Eden and the flood
[The garden of underworld and the
also make similar appearances]
dead. He is classically depicted as
It is a green-skinned man with a
argued that because of these
parallels that there cannot be validity
pharaoh's beard.
in the Christian story, it is false - Kreeft
suggests the more foreshadowings of
an event the more likely it is to have
occurred / will occur.

17. 2. An analogy from art: an
author writes himself into his
own movie etc. as a character
- the character would have a
double nature (that of the
author and also of the
character they are playing in
the movie) - they have come
down from the heaven of the
authors mind to the earth of the
movie. Alfred Hitchkock was
famous for doing it - if he can,
why can’t God?

18. 3. How does a person who disagrees with the idea
of the incarnation, saying it is impossible, tell God
what he can or cannot do? It seems the skeptic is
more sure of them-self than they are of God.

19. 4. If a being worthy of the
name God exists then he
would be omnipotent and able
to do anything that is
meaningful and not self
contradictory. Therefore the
incarnation is not a
contradiction (even though it is
a miracle) - it is possible.

20. 5. This is possible not only
from the side of the creator
but also the creature - a
human being can be
transformed, taken up into
God. Kreeft suggests this is
like subhuman food being
taken up into the human
body, or physical vibrations
becoming spiritual music, or
form and colour becoming art
etc.

21. Transformation is a
principle running
throughout the world and
evolution would be an
example of it. That said
evolution happens by
nature, incarnation by
God’s grace. Kreeft
suggests this simply
proves both are possible.

22. 6. The ability of a person to
have two differing natures is
best seen in yourself (a human
being). You can and cannot be
measured in terms of space our physical being and
intellectual or spiritual being all
come out of a single body (soul
and body together). In Christ
we see his human and divine
nature in the same body.

23. Argument’s for Christ’s divinity
The following are stronger
arguments for the actual event of
the incarnation.
1. Christ’s Trustworthiness
Jesus is seen by (almost) all as a
great teacher, good and wise
man. He is considered to be a
very trustworthy man.
Therefore we have to ask if we
can trust him regarding his own
identity? If not, then he is not
good or wise.

24. 2. The impossibility of the
alternative
What is the alternative to
saying that Jesus is God?
Jesus claimed to be God, and
he is thought to be believable,
so where do we go from here?
Considering the fact that Jesus
claimed to be God we have to
deal with a number of
possibilities:

25. a. Do the Gospels lie - and if
they do, why? If they are
written by lars then the result
of writing and following was
martyrdom - not a great
motive - liars usually lie for
their own benefit.

26. b. Thousands of others also suffered
and died for their belief - often singing
as they were put to death - has a lie
ever transformed the world like this?

27. c. What if it wasn’t deliberate lying but simply
an hallucination which took them all in? Jews
were not likely to believe this lie - they had
waited for God and now we are to believe
that after they had been forbidden from
worshipping false image they fall for this,
their god becoming a man and being
crucified as a criminal - not likely.

28. c. What if it wasn’t deliberate lying but simply
an hallucination which took them all in? Jews
were not likely to believe this lie - they had
waited for God and now we are to believe
that after they had been forbidden from
worshipping false image they fall for this,
their god becoming a man and being
crucified as a criminal - not likely.

29. d. What is if was not a Jewish but a Gentile myth
- how on earth did it get into the NT then - after
all 25 of the 27 books in the NT are written by
Jews.
e. If anyone had devised the myth it could not
have propagated in the lifetime of those who
knew and were with Jesus, for surely they would
have disproved it.

30. Aquinas suggests that if the
incarnation did not happen
then a bigger, more
unbelievable miracle took
place: the conversion of the
world by the biggest lie in
history and the moral
transformation of lives into
unselfishness, detachment
from worldy pleasures and
radically new heights of
holiness all by a mere myth.

31. Aquinas suggests that if the
incarnation did not happen
then a bigger, more
unbelievable miracle took
place: the conversion of the
world by the biggest lie in
history and the moral
transformation of lives into
unselfishness, detachment
from worldy pleasures and
radically new heights of
holiness all by a mere myth.

32. 3. Lord, liar or lunatic?
The earliest apologists have said
of Jesus, “Either God or a bad
man” - what is more simple?
a. Jesus was either God (if he
did not lie about who he was),
or a bad man (if he did lie about
it.
b. But Jesus was not a bad man
c. Therefore Jesus was (is) God.
The bad man idea is not usually
argued with - so we have to
deal with the first idea.

33. 3. Lord, liar or lunatic?
The earliest apologists have said
of Jesus, “Either God or a bad
man” - what is more simple?
a. Jesus was either God (if he
did not lie about who he was),
or a bad man (if he did lie about
it.
b. But Jesus was not a bad man
c. Therefore Jesus was (is) God.
The bad man idea is not usually
argued with - so we have to
deal with the first idea.

34. How do we approach this?
If someone claims to be God
and is not he is a bad man common sense tells us that!
Jesus could not be merely a
good man, by claiming to be
God he eliminates such
possibilities - so he is a liar
who tells lies about who he is.

35. How do we approach this?
If someone claims to be God
For non-Christians it is easier
and is not he is a bad man to say he was a good man common sense tells us that!
claim he is bad and you offend
Jesus could not be merely a
Christians, claim he was God
good man, by claiming to be
and you offend other nonGod he eliminates such
Christians.
possibilities - so he is a liar
who tells lies about who he is.

36. If he wasn’t God, but Jesus believed
his own claim to be God, then he
has to be a lunatic.
The “divinity complex” is a well
known form of psychopathology symptoms include, egotism,
narcissism, inflexibility, dullness,
predictability, inability to understand
and love others - basically such
people are the opposite of Jesus.
In fact Jesus showed wisdom,love
and creativity - all opposites of this
complex.

37. If Jesus was a liar then he had
to be one of the greatest ever
to have walked on planet Earth
- on a basic level to convince
people to give up their eternal
destiny through his lies is a
terrible act. He would have to
be the biggest, baddest liar
ever!

38. But what if the disciples
invented the lie?
1. The disciples do not show
symptoms of being pathological
liars
2. What was their motive - they got
suffering and death, just like Jesus.
3. They could not have known this
would be successful as all Jews
would be horrified at the nature of
the lie and its blasphemy.

39. What if the disciples were
lunatics?
1. The Gospels write of one
of the most compelling
people in history - not the
work of madmen. It would be
hard for a madman to write
one chapter let alone all of
them

40. 2. How could such lunacy change for the better
the lives of so many people?
3. What accounts for the origin of the lunacy?
How do we account for the original deception in
all of it?

41. Motives for unbelief
In the light of all this, why
do so many not believe?
1. No rational reason even when the arguments
have been refuted their is
no rational explanation for
why some refuse to
believe.

42. Motives for unbelief
In mathematics, an why
In the light of all this,
irrational number believe?
do so many not is any
realNo rational reason 1. number that cannot be
expressed as a ratio a/b,
even when the arguments
wherebeen refuted their is
have a and b are
integers, with b non-zero,
no rational explanation for
and is therefore not a
why some refuse to
rational number.
believe.

43. 2. Often Christ is not
rejected but Christians people do not like what
christians look like.
3. Fear - of the church, its
authority and its teachings
scares people away. The
church makes demands just
like Jesus did - it is not
comfortable.

44. 4. Moral reluctance - if you
accept Jesus then all areas of
your life are challenged (and
should be changed) by his
teaching - sex, drugs, morality,
selfishness, wrong morals etc. All
“sin” comes under this challenge a surgeon will remove all cancer,
Jesus challenges it all and
demands it removed - Christ
comes to kill sin in our life.

45. 5. People are sometimes afraid of the
mysterious and uncontrollable - God who is
incarnate is not neat or comfortable.
6. Pride - we refuse to relinquish control of our lives
7. Belief in Jesus is intellectually unfashionable

46. 8. Equality - to believe
Jesus is the only way then
says all religions are not
equal - not a popular way of
thinking - and one that
demands a response of
choice.
These are not logical
arguments which prove
unbelief - they simply explain
subjective, psychological
unbelief.

47. The Divinity
of Christ
Pop Quiz

48. •Kreeft starts by listing ‘claims’
of Jesus that people might find
hard to accept - there are at least
six - name four of them
•Why is the divinity of Christ
important in apologetics? (2
reasons)
•Kreeft gives 3 arguments for
believing this argument of Christ’s
divinity...
•Kreeft states 8 reasons for not
believing this - name four
13
Marks

49. Kreeft starts by listing ‘claims’ of Jesus that
people might find hard to accept - there are at
least six - name four of them
Jesus called himself the “Son of God” - he
claimed to have the same nature as God and
called God his Father.
Jesus claimed to be sinless:
Jesus claimed to save us from sin and death:
Jesus claimed he would return at the end of
the age to judge all of us.

50. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter something that for a Jew only God could do
Jesus kept pointing at himself and telling
people to come to him
Buddha, Confucius and Muhammad fulfilled
no prophecies, did no miracles, and did not
rise from the dead. Jesus did all of these.

51. Why is the divinity of Christ
important in apologetics? (2
reasons)
!
1. The issue of the divinity of
Christ is a distinctively
Christian one - a Christian has
to be defined as someone
who believes this.
2. This is the key to unlocking
many other doctrines within
the Christian faith

52. Kreeft gives 3 arguments for
believing this argument of Christ’s
divinity...
!
1. Christ’s Trustworthiness
2. The impossibility of the
alternative
3. Lord, Liar or lunatic

53. •Kreeft states 8 reasons for not believing this name four
1. No rational reason
2. Christ is not rejected but Christians
3. Fear
4. Moral reluctance
5. People are sometimes afraid of the
mysterious and uncontrollable
6. Pride
7. Belief in Jesus is intellectually
unfashionable
8. Equality