Lemma

 

Not for the faint hearted or merely nice. Carrier argues against C S Lewis´ famous Trilemma. What if Jesus actually was a liar or a lunatic? Delusional people can be fully functioning in all areas except the one affected by the delusion. Or (in a sense) even in that area, if people accept and share their delusion. Maybe Jesus *wanted* to be killed, falsely believing that this would fulfill the prophecies of Daniel or some such? 

One thing not pointed out, but which the Buddhist guy almost touches upon in the commentary thread, is the Zeitgeist when Lewis formulated his Trilemma. He says that "nobody" suggests that Jesus was a liar or a lunatic, indeed, even atheists see him as a "great moral teacher". But this line of argument only works in a culture still permeated by Christianity. Today, of course, many atheists *would* say that Jesus was mad or bad (or even mad, bad *and* God - although that would be "misotheism" rather than atheism, but most misotheists are probably atheists striking a rhetorical pose). 

Oh, and the UK still had blasphemy laws during C S Lewis´ lifetime, so it was *technically illegal* to claim that Jesus was a sociopath or psycho...

That detail in itself invalidates the Trilemma.   

The False Trichotomy of Lord, Liar, or Lunatic