The Professor Who Thought He Knew It All

If you or someone you know is suceptible to being swayed by unbelieving college professors, take a moment with this. It's simple a variation on a statement by C.S. Lewis. But it's very important for young people to get a hold of some of this.

ALogical Discussion beginning with the Premise: "Jesus is the Only Way to Life". (An Imaginary Face-Off Between Student and Professor.) Location: Any College in the Post-Modern World

Student says: “Jesus is the only way to God.”

Professor responds condescendingly: “What a narrow-minded thing to say!”

Student says, “So then, would you say that it’s more correct to say “Jesus may be one of many ways to God…or at least one of many ways to view spiritual matters?”

Professor responds with approval: “Yes. That’s much more acceptable. After all, who are you to make such an exclusive claim about one faith?”

Student then says, “But it wasn’t my words. Jesus Himself claimed to be exclusive.”

Professor begins to be impatient. “How on earth can you say for sure what Jesus’ real words were. There are many conflicting reports over the years.”

Student: “Actually that’s not true. There is a remarkable consistency regarding the basic message and ministry of Jesus among those who wrote of him and witnessed these events.”

Professor: “How so?”

Student: “Before I share several things, I’d like to suggest that if I demonstrate the essential trustworthiness of these writings, there are actually three myths that can be debunked at the same time.

Myth One: That Jesus was a Liar. If he wasn’t telling the truth about himself, he was deliberately misleading people. But that doesn’t at all match with the person that the entire historical witness presents us with. He was a wise teacher, a compassionate healer, and a courageous confronter of those who were unjust. This doesn’t leave people any room to call Jesus a deceiver.

Myth Two: That Jesus was a Lunatic. This also is absurd. The record clearly shows that Jesus was raised in an orthodox Jewish setting, learning the scriptures and Jewish traditions, apprenticing under his father in the building trade, and growing up multi-lingual in an international environment (for that is exactly what the Galilean portion of modern-day Israel was, being at a fascinating crossroads of ancient mid-Eastern trade routes). Finally, he lead a peripatetic group of disciples and gathered – almost unintentionally – a huge following over a three-year period, even though doing this was a direct threat to his personal security and comfort.

Myth Three: That Jesus was a Legend. What people call the New Testament is, as you know, a collection of writings. They came into being as a natural consequence of an amazing life lived among the people who wrote. They couldn’t help but set it on the historical record. Their own personalities come through the writings, and the recipients of these letters and accounts, the situations, places, relationships, and urgencies are fairly bursting with the historical reality of the thing. The whole matter is anything but fabrication.

“Now, I believe,” the student continues, “that I have presented you with some information that should challenge you to study the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth further. But I also understand that - - this is a matter of life change, and not just a matter of debating viewpoints. So I wish you the best as you study the matter, and hope you’ll see, as I do, that Jesus Christ is worthy of you committing your entire life to.”