The Psalmist wrote that only the fool in his heart, says there is no God (Psalm 14:1)...The Psalmist is telling us that only a fool does not believe in God...
This discussion is similar to C. S. Lewis' Mere Christianity...Lewis tells us Jesus, is one of three things...Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or our LORD...Let us look at this a little differently...Let us say one has to choose on only two choices about Jesus (let us eliminate that He is or was a lunatic)...From our two choices, Jesus is either the dumbest of all men, if there is no God, or He is the wisest of all in the universe if did resurrect and He is with His Father right now...
Those who believe in God believe that His Son, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life...But there are non-believers and atheists, who do not believe this...The non-believer and atheist, also believes there is no God...If God does not exist, then you have to question many, if not all, things about Jesus and what He said and what He did...Jesus talked about God over and over throughout His ministry...No one talked more about God than Jesus...Jesus' entire life is centered around God, and He made God His life...If you do not believe in God, then you must think Jesus is not very smart...Why would one put His entire life, and their entire reputation, what they taught, and their whole belief system in a dream, myth, or something that doe not exist?...In fact, those who think God does not exist, must think Jesus is stupid...He is the One, who is the fool...After all, all of His teachings are to bring everyone close or closer to God...If God does not exist, then Jesus is wrong in what He said and what He taught...
Now if the atheist is correct, then God does not exist and Jesus is not the way, not the truth, and not the life...We will never be set free by His truths...There is no eternities, and there is no heaven...He would not be truth, if the atheist is right...Then He would be a lie and a liar...If God does not exist, Jesus is a fool for teaching, what He taught...What else can He be, if God does not exist?...If he atheist is right, then Jesus did not get it...
But Jesus is not dumb...As you read through the Gospels, the Acts, St. Paul, and the other letters you do not get a feeling He is dumb at all...In fact, He did many miracles (just to prove He is from heaven), and had a great following, and you might even suspect, One that popular might be arrogant...But as you read about Him in the gospels, you get no sense of Him ever being arrogant...One senses that He is humble and THE wisest man (if it is fair to call Him a man) ever ...This is only true, if you believe what you read in the gospels...
After I read the Bible I picked up on three extremely wise men...Jesus, Solomon, and Paul...I think Jesus is the wisest of all men who ever lived (followed by King Solomon, and then St. Paul)...
King Solomon was known for his wisdom...He built a Temple for God...So naturally Solomon believed in God...St. Paul who wrote thirteen or fourteen books (if you credit him writing the Book of Hebrews) of the New Testament Books...That is over half of the New Testament...These are two very wise men, who believed in God and Jesus (even though Solomon had not met the Messiah, yet)...But Jesus is the smartest and the wisest man ever to walk the earth...I feel, no one has ever talked like Him...Every word He spoke was great and almighty...What He talked about is amazing, and if one believes in Him then -He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life...
Jesus disciples got to see and experience His wisdom...His wisdom and their understanding of Him, seem to culminate the night before His arrest...He spoke and explained all these things of His wisdom that even they could understand Him that evening and night before His arrest...The disciples said, now we can see that You know all things and that You do not even need to have us ask questions...This makes us think You come from God (John 16:29-30)...
The polite atheist might say well Jesus is not stupid, He just didn't understand these things...Or He was really a nice man, but was just wrong...Well, if God does not exist, Jesus not only did not understand these things a little, He was very, very wrong...But what Jesus teaches is so differently, and in a new and different light...The Light of His teachings was so different, that He even said He was the Light...It is like He came from Another World...He says I AM from above and you are from below...You are of this world; I AM not of this world -what does that mean?...He did not say He knew a way to get to heaven, He said He was the Way to heaven...He said no one has ever gone into heaven, except the One who came from heaven, Him -now that is something to tell your students (which He did)...He told a woman from Samaria that He was the Messiah...Many teachers of His time (and even today teach the truths of the universe)...But Jesus without question teaches the eternities...God is what Jesus teaches...His whole life and all of His teachings are a lie, if God does not exist...He says only God is good -how does He know that?...He says before Abraham was born, He existed...How could have He have gotten that so wrong?...He tells us He is in God and God is in Him, how could He understand or not understand He is not in God?...He says to forgive everyone, even our enemies...Then He goes farther with the enemy theme -He says to love and pray for our enemies (now that is a very hard teaching)...He tells us not to worry -how does that work (never to worry)?...He once told a follower of His that He was the resurrection and the life...Those who believe in Him, shall never die, but have eternal life...He says that no one gets to God, except through Him...The words He speaks are not on His own authority, but are the authority of the Father living in Him...Jesus goes on to say that whoever believes in Him will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father...He tells us He is the way we need to go...No one can reach there absolute potential except through Him...If we try to keep ourselves, we will be ruined...Only coming to Him, and giving our complete self can we reach our True potential, and will we live abundantly...You must get rid of those things which are barriers to Me...Those things in your life that keeps Me from you -He says get rid of them -even if it is your money, your possessions, or even a body part, like your hand, a foot, or even an eye (Matthew 18:8-9)...And even when you do all these things I still may not put you in the first place, but in the last place...But when you have done all these things and follow My teachings, you are My disciple, and I will ease your load...You will be reborn -you will have indeed changed...I will take away your sins, all of them...And I will save you...I AM Truth, Life, and the Way...I make all things new...You can turn from me and be ashamed of My words, but I will continue to be there and Love and forgive you...But in the end, if you are always ashamed of Me, then I will not recognize you -when I return without disguise in My Second Coming, because I AM not in you and have never made it in you...Who speaks like this?...Well, if He did not understand the things about God, He sure goes into much detail about God and His relationship with God...Let us not make any mistake about Jesus, He spoke as if knew God from even the beginning of time...He does not want us to even think that He does not understand God...Jesus knows God intimately, that is one of the reasons He says My Father and I are One...Why would Jesus speak like this, about these spiritual things if He did not understand them?...He would be a great fool if God does not exist, and the atheists would be right...But it is the atheist, who does not understand these things, especially these spiritual things...
I do not think Jesus wants us to think of Him as just a nice man either...That is why He says He did not come to earth to bring peace, but He came to divide people...Even families will be divided, because of Him (Luke 12:49-53)...A nice man would not want to divide a family...And at the same time, He teaches us to love our enemies...Our families may divided over how we feel and think about Him, as an individual, but He still teaches us to love our enemies...Some family members will want to have Jesus in their lives and others will not...I can see how this would divide a family...And what He teaches us in His "But I tell you statements" in Matthew chapter five, that anyone who is angry with his brother, will be subject to judgment...A brother, part of the very family He says He will divide -when we think about Him and choose to follow Him...How odd, yet how interesting...Statements like these show of how He is perfect, and the kingdom of God is perfect -and how He wants us to be perfect...
If the atheist teacher gives the believer a multiple choice test about God to Jesus He would not get any of the atheist answers right...If that atheist teacher gave Him an essay test to explain God, the atheist teacher would fail Jesus miserably with an F-...Jesus knew, spoke, and taught about God for three years...God was the focal point of His life...Jesus is the complete opposite of what an atheist would teach...Jesus taught His Father was alive and that He was the Son of the/a Living God...
Jesus is no fool...In his heart, not only did He believe there was a God, which is His Father, He KNEW there is a God...In fact, He knows God...God is His Father...He and His Father are One...Anyone who knows Jesus knows the Father...When we want to get to His Father, the only way -is through His Son...
The way Jesus taught, He does wants us to make a decision about Himself...He wants us to take our faith, no matter what the amount and believe in Him and His Father...When we think about Him and read His teachings, it almost seems, we have to choose between a truth or a lie...We must choose if He is the wisest Man, ever to walk the earth, or is stupid and a fool...If God does not exist, Jesus went around talking about One whom never existed -all the time...How could He, of all people get that wrong?...But for believers this makes quite the sense, in an odd way...Jesus did not come to bring peace on this earth, but division...He wants us to choose these things about Him...Like Thomas, after he doubted, was allowed to touch His glorious wounds that saved us from our sins, we must come to the same conclusion as the Doubting Thomas...We must also choose Truth and say, My LORD, and My God...