Trilemma in Christian Apologetics
From Wikipedia. Edited by Duncan Rize

A trilemma is similar to a dilemma, but with three options instead of two. If the three options are mutually exclusive and jointly exhaustive (i.e., they cover all the possibilities and you can't pick more than one), then the trilemma can be resolved by eliminating two of them.

The most famous trilemma -- often referred to simply as "the trilemma" -- is a form of apologetics meant to prove the divinity of Jesus. It is summarized as "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord." The argument states that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. Therefore, one of three things must be true:

1. Liar: Jesus was not the son of God, and he knew it, but he said so anyway.
2. Lunatic: Jesus was not the son of God, but he mistakenly believed that he was.
3. Lord: Jesus was the son of God, and thus spoke the truth.

The trilemma is principally associated with C. S. Lewis and Josh McDowell. McDowell's argument has the form of a simple reduction: the first two options are, for various reasons, not acceptable; and therefore we must believe Jesus' claim to be the son of God. Lewis, the originator of the argument, does not pretend to be nearly so conclusive. The three probable alternatives are together — any of which, or some variant, may logically be chosen — over against the illogical choice of calling Jesus a "great human teacher". Lewis's trilemma is therefore a straight-forward dilemma on the basis of the Biblical view of Jesus: it compels a choice of any option except the logically excluded alternative that Jesus was "a great human teacher" (and from among the remaining alternatives, he argues that Jesus is God). Lewis does not propose the argument as a proof of the deity of Christ, as Josh McDowell applies it, but he was ultimately persuaded that the choice of Jesus as Lord is no less probable than the alternatives, and far more preferable.

In other words, following Lewis, a believer in Jesus as seen in the Bible cannot believe that Jesus was merely a good moral teacher; although he may believe in Jesus the diabolical liar, Jesus the madman, or Jesus the Lord and God. McDowell, on the other hand, seems to believe that the trilemma logically compels Christian belief. First, he tries to demonstrate that the Bible is a reliable historical source. Once he believes he's established that, he uses the reliability of the Bible and the trilemma to the conclude that Jesus is divine.

Arguements Against the Trilemma

Skeptics may answer that, if there is reason to doubt that the Christian church's testimony is accurate concerning the matter, including the Bible, this casts doubt on whether Jesus actually said he was the son of God, or did any of the other things that are attributed to him. Apart from belief that Jesus existed, and confidence that we know something about him, there is no dilemma. And, even granting that the issues of credibility can be resolved, the options are open from a skeptical point of view, to believe that Jesus was insane, or evil. It should also be noted that the New Testament does not quote Jesus as referring to himself as the "Son of God". Jesus is addressed so by the Satan (Matthew 4:3, Luke 4:3), demons (Matthew 8:29, Mark 3:11) and by his disciples (Matthew 14:33, 16:16, Mark 1:1, John 3:16, 6:69). Jesus, when asked directly (Matthew 26:63) avoids giving a straight answer, replying "thou hast said" (su eipas; tu dixisti), going on to say something about the Son of Man that will be seated in the clouds. Also, in the Hebrew bible, the title belongs also to any one whose piety has placed him in a filial relation to God, so that in its wider sense, it is nothing special and Jesus could have considered himself the "Son of God" simply on grounds of his piety. The trilemma is thus based on two implicit false assumptions (Jesus is reported to have called himself "Son of God" in the New Testament, and the title has an exclusive significance). The authors of the gospel, no doubt, portray Jesus as the Son of God, intending the title to be only shared by Adam besides, by the late 1st century. The sceptic is free, however, to distribute charges of "lunatic" and "lier" among the various evangelists without prejudicing the quality of Jesus as "great teacher".

Answering the Skeptics

Lewis's rejoinder (implicit in the trilemma, explicit elsewhere) in summary is that, God has arranged that men may freely choose whether they would prefer things otherwise than for God to exist, to have made the world, and to have revealed himself in Jesus. They will be judged according to what they love: whether light (God), or darkness.







Duncan Rize loves the writings of C.S. Lewis and works with the marketing group at www.LearningByGrace.org. Learning by Grace manages of a number of internationally known online K-12 academies including www.TheGraceAcademy.org, www.TheJubileeAcademy.org, www.TheMorningStarAcademy.org and www.TheNarniaAcademy.org . This article is © 2005 ELRN, Inc. and may be quoted in whole or part as long as the author (Duncan Rize) and source (www.TheNarniaAcademy.org) are credited.