The Good News!!!

2356033988_d146b61be4Jesus of Nazareth is one of those people who evokes a wide range of opinions.  There are people, namely Christians, who love Jesus because he is their savior and author of their salvation.  Then there are those people who despise the name of Jesus for a number of reasons (e.g., primarily atheists who despise Christianity and see Jesus as a larger than life myth).  There is, what I like to call, the “mushy middle.”  These are people who claim they respect Jesus as a good, moral teacher.  They see Jesus of Nazareth as a prophet who taught a radical way of living, but really no different than Muhammed, Ghandi, or Martin Luther King Jr.

So who is the person called Jesus of Nazareth?  Well, in the pages that follow, I will demonstrate that Jesus is the divine Son of God, that salvation come through him alone and that he brings the gift of eternal life.

Enjoy and be blessed!

  1. ben
    March 27, 2009 at 2:47 pm | #1
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    The “mushy middle”?

    Carl, how is this at all “polite and respectful”? (see guidelines for commenting on your blog) How would you like it if I said that you were a part of the “mushy middle”? Would you want to listen to anything I had to say? Also, your words here imply that people in the “mushy middle” are not Christians. Just because people have a different view of Jesus than you does not give you the right to decide whether or not they are Christians. That would be God’s job.

    • Carl Gobelman
      March 27, 2009 at 3:20 pm | #2
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      Ben,

      The term ‘mushy middle’ simply refers to people who fill out the span between the extremes. If the term offends you, or anyone else, I apologize; my intent is not to be offensive. But my point is still valid: There are those who believe that Jesus is the sinless Son of God (and all that implies) and there are those who outright reject Jesus. In between these two poles are those who see Jesus as less than the Son of God (e.g., moral example, prophet, teacher of wisdom, etc.).

      If you’ve ever read C.S. Lewis, he wrote that the only valid options regarding Jesus are liar, lunatic, or Son of God. The reason he says this is because if you read the gospels, these are the only options he left us with. A ‘good moral teacher’ who made the claims to deity that Jesus made would either be crazy (i.e., unknowingly making claims that aren’t true) or a liar (knowingly making claims that aren’t true). In either case, he would no longer be a ‘good moral teacher,’ would he?

      As to your statement — “Also, your words here imply that people in the “mushy middle” are not Christians” — I’m not implying anything; I’m stating it explicitly! If these words offend, I offer no apology because these aren’t ‘my words,’ but what the Bible teaches:

      Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

      A man who was simply a ‘good moral teacher’ or a ‘prophet’ can’t save me from my sins.

      Thanks for visiting and commenting!
      Carl

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