More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell
Week 3: Chapter 3 — Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?
Read Chapter 3 of More Than a Carpenter.
Previewing Week 3 of More Than a Carpenter
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 11-week guide when you’re ready.
This is perhaps the most famous chapter in the book — McDowell's adaptation of C. S. Lewis's famous 'trilemma.' Sit with the three options before you rush to a conclusion, and be honest about which one you find most tempting to avoid.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Explain the 'Lord, Liar, or Lunatic' trilemma in your own words. What logical work is it designed to do, and why does McDowell (following C. S. Lewis) consider it a decisive framing of the question?
2.McDowell argues that someone who made the claims Jesus made — 'I am the way, the truth, and the life,' 'Before Abraham was, I am,' 'I and the Father are one' — could not simply be a good moral teacher unless those claims are true. Do you find that argument convincing? Why or why not?
3.Consider the 'liar' option. McDowell notes that if Jesus was deliberately deceiving his followers about his identity, this would make him profoundly evil — someone who sent people to their deaths on the basis of a lie. What evidence does he offer against the liar hypothesis?
a.What kind of person willingly dies for a lie they know to be a lie?
b.Does Jesus's ethical teaching fit the profile of a cynical deceiver?