More Than a Carpenter Essay Example For Students

More Than a Carpenter Essay In the book, â€Å"More than a Carpenter,† Josh McDowell shows how Jesus Christ was more than just a teacher of good principles or a significant person in history. He was God in the flesh who entered the world and exclusively proved His deity. This book shows how Jesus is different from religious historical figures, guides the reader through proofs of Christianity, and logically shows that Jesus Christ was Lord. He shows that Jesus would not have died for a lie and that if Jesus did not rise from the grave, then he would not be the Messiah. Christ has changed many lives because he lived a perfect life, died on the cross for everyone’s sins, and rose from the grave. Jesus was different from other religious figures because he professed to be God. Jesus is the human form of God who is the â€Å"infinite and perfect spirit in whom all things have their source, support, and end,† according to A. H. Strong. The New Testament intelligibly demonstrates that Jesus Christ is God. He is given names of God such as â€Å"Savior† and is described as self-existent, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and possessing eternal life. John 5:20 says, â€Å"We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. † If Jesus’ claims to be God in the flesh were false, then He would have to either be a liar or lunatic, not Lord. If Jesus were a liar, the n he would have to have been intentionally deceiving his disciples and followers. He would be a hypocrite because he told his followers to be honest and he would be a demon because he told others to confide in him for their everlasting fate. He would also be a fool because he died on the cross for a lie. Someone who lived a life like Jesus, taught as He taught, and died as He died, could not be a liar. If Jesus were a lunatic, then he would have to tell people to believe in him to have everlasting life and sincerely mean it but be wrong. It would be amazing for Him to be a lunatic and have amazing composure and grace. Jesus Christ was an intellect because He was God, but he was not God because of His intellect. He lived a life of sacrifice, of love and compassion, a life only God could live. To be a lunatic, He would ave to have had the most severe delusion about his personal character and mission. He was and is definitely not a lunatic. Since a person cannot conclude that Jesus was a liar or lunatic, He must have been Lord. The evidence in the Bible obviously points out Jesus Christ as God. The New Testament’s validity is greatly supported by archeology. It provides evidence of accuracy about events recorded in t he books. It’s manuscripts were found earlier than documents believed as true such as Caesar’s history of the Gallic Wars which had nine or ten copies found 1,000 years after his death. Aristotle wrote his poetics in 343 B. C. nd the earliest dated copy is in A. D 1100. The New Testament has over 20,000 copies in existence today. The document with the second most is the Iliad with 643 copies. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was when He was on earth. There are countless amounts of evidence and logic behind Him living when He did, working many miracles, being who the Bible said He was, and dying on the cross and raising from the grave. He could not have just been a great moral teacher to do all of the things He did and resist every temptation. He is the only person that has lived a perfect life on this earth and there will never be another to do so.