Let’s look at the Trilemma Of C.S. Lewis: Was Jesus mentally ill?

Michie

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In the previous pieces for this series, we referenced C. S. Lewis’s Trilemma, essentially his argument: in claiming He was God, Jesus was either a liar, insane, or God. In the previous installment, we addressed the question: Was Jesus a liar? Below, we’ll address Lewis’ next possibility: Was Jesus mentally ill?

Fair Question
Because Jesus is a polarizing figure, let’s begin this discussion with someone other than Jesus. Let’s use my friend “Mike” as the guinea pig in the mental exercise.

Let’s say I accused my friend Mike of a physical illness—say, influenza. What if I told everyone not to associate with Mike because of his sickness? Before I did that, it would be reasonable to detail his symptoms to provide evidence. Common symptoms of the flu include high fever, fatigue, sore throat, vomiting, and chills. What if, however, Mike had no symptoms—yet I told Mike’s friends he was sick anyway to make sure his friends stayed away from Mike? What sort of person would do that?

Imagine now that I accused Mike not of physical illness, but of mental illness. Maybe I really believe Mike is mentally ill, but the truth is that I lack any formal—or even informal—study of mental disorders. Nevertheless, I don’t let that stop me. Though I cannot name one specific symptom of mental illness, I tell everyone to stay away from Mike because “Mike’s crazy!” What sort of person would do that?

Alright, now let’s give Mike a break and circle back to our original question. Judging from the Gospels, was Jesus mentally ill? And specifically, what mental disorder(s) did He have?

Old Allegations

Continued below.
The Trilemma Of C.S. Lewis, Part Four: Was Jesus Mentally Ill?
 

jamiec

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Jesus could have been
  1. misreported
  2. misinterpreted
  3. a deceiver who said some of what He is reported as saying
  4. a deceiver who said all of what he is reported as saying
  5. mentally sick
  6. God Incarnate
  7. a myth
Any of these is possible - some are more plausible than others. I cannot think of any other possibilities there might be.

I have no difficulty believing that the first disciples were in good faith, and that the movement they were involved in was later taken up by insincere and deceitful men who proceeded to convert it to their own underhand purposes; or else by ignorant fanatics. People can be sincere in dying for a bad cause.

Can one diagnose someone divided from the diagnoser by cultures & centuries? Hmmm….
 
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whatisinausername

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Are the words of Christ from a mentally ill person? No.
Did He go around telling people he was God? No.
Did he make 11 women his wives including a 6 year old? No.

If God exists and loves us He would become one of us. God created a kind of Frankenstein. It would be better for us to exist than not and the cross is His apology, I think.
 
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