alpha quotes I love

We have just begun another Alpha course at our church. My husband, James, and I are huge fans of this course. Partly because we think it's an excellent way of introducing the gospel to non-believers and partly because it is the course that was instrumental in turning my husband's heart to Jesus. If you're unfamiliar with the course, you can check it out here. I would recommend it for anyone - mature Christian, new Christian, falling away Christian, non-Christian - anyone.

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During session 1 - Who is Jesus, one of my all time favorite quotes is talked about.

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. Either Jesus was, and is, the Son of God or else he was insane or evil..."

One of my favorite Sunday School teachers growing up was T. He was, and still is very wise with amazing biblical knowledge and his life reflected what he taught us young ones. I would say he was a great moral teacher. But imagine if T. had also claimed to be the Son of God, saying things like, "if you've seen me, you've seen the Father." Could he be a liar and a great moral teacher at the same time? No, those characteristics are mutually exclusive.

But what if Jesus were insane? Could he have just been a crazy Jew spewing crazy chatter? I suppose that option might be viable, with one exception. Death. Jesus died a horrible, horrible death. If you've seen the Passion, you have witnessed what a horrific death it must have been. Would a crazy man take his spewings to the cross? Would he endure the torture, the humiliation, the pain? Or would he call uncle when he realized where his mutterings had landed him?

I think Sherlock Holmes says it best, "when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

And if I have concluded that Jesus was, and is, the Son of God, not some good teacher or crazy man, then I must also conclude that every word he spoke was truth. I cannot pick and choose my way through his teaching, deciding to follow those that make sense to me and put aside those which are more difficult to understand their reasoning. All he said would have to be truth. All.