Chapter 3 of Book 2
is titled 'The Shocking Alternative'
Since this was a broadcast talk,
this continues from the previous chapter
The previous chapter discussed
how the world is now occupied by rebelling forces
against the absolutely good God
and is in a state of defiance, where God invades
to confront and subdue these rebellious forces,
ultimately restoring His kingdom,
a worldview that sees history as the story of this divine reclaiming
Then a question follows
If this God is absolutely good,
how is this possible?
If God is an omnipotent being,
how is such a rebellion possible?
Wouldn’t that make this God impotent and incompetent?
The answer to this is simple
It is because God created humans
as beings with free will
‘Free will’ explains the possible rebellion,
as well as the reason why
a good God does not
immediately eradicate a fallen world,
but instead 'invades' to restore it through
Jesus Christ’s cross and resurrection
C.S. Lewis, in Chapter 3
titled ‘The Shocking Alternative,’
explains the meaning, value, and importance of human free will
He takes a family as an example
Imagine a mother teaching her young son
The son struggles with keeping his room tidy,
while the mother’s desire is for the room to be well-organized
If she cleans it perfectly every day
to meet her intention or will,
the room would reflect her wishes,
but the son would never develop a habit of tidying
He would not be able to learn through doing it himself
So, how will the son change
from this state of not tidying,
to one of tidiness, into the mother's will?
This requires a process and a period of waiting
Time is needed for the son to develop
the habit of tidying through his own free will
This is the kind of time
unfolding in our world today
God did not create humans as mechanical beings
If we were incapable of rebellion or betrayal,
we would be without free will.
And without free will,
we could not experience true joy
No one fills a room with the finest dolls
and finds joy in calling them
their beloved children
Even if they sometimes cause trouble,
disobey, or make mistakes,
we find joy in them as beings with free will
Because, despite sometimes doing things that aren’t good,
a young child calls out to mom or dad,
runs into their arms, relies on them,
smiles at them, and shares in the family’s joy
It is this free will in a child
that brings happiness
to us as humans
When God created humans in His image,
He made them as beings with free will
The value of free will lies in
(Potential to do evil) allowing potential betrayal
Only then is it truly free will
Without the freedom to betray, it is not true freedom
Having only the freedom to obey
is not complete freedom
God gave humans complete freedom,
creating them as beings who, through this freedom,
can serve Him personally,
love Him with free will, and glorify Him
through their voluntary actions
Humans used their free will
(Misusing the free will) to join the evil and rebellion,
This brought sin into humanity
and turned them into rebels against God
Because humans, created by God
as good and precious beings, fell,
the world became all the worse
Humanity’s fall has steeped
the whole world in corruption
C.S. Lewis explains,
'The better stuff a creature is made of, the worse it will be
if it goes wrong'
Humans were created
from nobler materials than any other
and, above all, were endowed with
the precious gift of free will
Because no other creature has this freedom,
humanity’s fall has had a far greater impact
Thus, we can understand how
the world has fallen simply by looking at humanity itself
So Lewis says,
'There was the idea
that they could be like gods,
invent some sort of happiness
for themselves outside God, and apart from God'
'The reason it can never success is this'
'God made us. He invented us'
The humans God created can only find true happiness in Him,
and their free will can experience joy
and fulfillment only when it is directed toward God
Here's a simple example
Just as a car runs only with gasoline,
we function properly
only when God dwells within us
In the latter part, C.S. Lewis argues
that, given a world
marked by fallen humanity, rebellion, and evil forces,
we must respond to Jesus,
who came with a mission
to invade this broken realm and restore it to God
But Jesus’ self-claims are profoundly shocking,
hence the chapter title, ‘The Shocking Alternative'
“Because Jesus made incredibly shocking claims
that are difficult for us to accept
He described Himself as one who can forgive sins
He also said,
‘Before Abraham was, I am,’
and claimed to be God Himself
He made extraordinary claims about Himself,
claims that cannot be found
in any other religious leader,
philosopher, thinker, or moral sage
How can we think of someone
who claims to be God as merely a great person?
It’s not that He isn’t great,
but we mustn’t regard Him as just a moral human
or one of many saints
Jesus claims to be the Son of God
The question is whether we accept Him or not
We must not view Him
as merely another religious leader
So here is a famous quote be C.S. Lewis
Let me read it out to you
and then explain further
‘"I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,
but I don’t accept His claim to be God."'
'This is the one thing we must not say'
'As a mere man who said the sort of things,
Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher'
He would either be a lunatic,
on a level with the man
who says he is a poached egg,
or else he would be the Devil of Hell'
'You must make your choice'
'Either this man was, and is,
the Son of God,
or else a madman or something worse'
'You can shut Him up for a fool,
you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon'
'Or, you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God'
'But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense
about His being a great human teacher'
'He has not left that open to us'
'He did not intend to'
There’s a hidden chart in C.S. Lewis’s famous statement
The first possibility
is that Jesus could be a madman
a lunatic claiming
to be a poached egg
If He wasn’t God
but believed He was and claimed to be,
that would indicate a mental issue,
similar to someone thinking they’re an egg
The first option we have
in response to Jesus’ claims is to regard Him as a madman
What's the second option?
If He knew He wasn’t God
but claimed to be, then He would be
a fraud, a deceiver, even a devil
That’s why Lewis uses the term ‘Devil of Hell'
If He were not truly God but only pretending,
deceiving and continually
leading people astray, then He would be a devil
Do you think it’s possible
that Jesus claimed to be Messiah
and then orchestrated
all the surrounding events
to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies?
Over 200 specific Messianic prophecies
were fulfilled in Jesus alone
Could He have manipulated these himself,
involving those around Him?
Could He have arranged for His own crucifixion,
for His bones to remain unbroken,
for His betrayal by a disciple,
or His burial in a rich man’s tomb?
Do you think He arranged in advance
for Joseph of Arimathea to place His body
in his tomb to fulfill prophecy,
or asked Judas Iscariot to betray Him,
suggesting that
since He was the Messiah,
and because Judas was the most suitable person for the task?
Are such things even possible?
The entire life and events of Jesus
are not the kind that one person could orchestrate with others
Therefore, He could not be
a fraud or a devil,
much less a madman
The more we meditate on Jesus' word,
and the truth hidden within,
the more we find that His words are true
Even those who don’t believe in Him
find power when they take His words to heart
Even those who do not believe in Jesus’ divinity,
viewing Him only as a man,
experience life changes when they read His words
The renowned African doctor Albert Schweitzer,
('The Saint of Africa,’ who explored Jesus from a historical perspective)
did not acknowledge Jesus’ divinity
He acknowledged only the humanity of Jesus,
yet lived an admirable life
But can we really say that such words of Jesus
came from a madman?
Now, the third option remains
C.S. Lewis presents only one option left,
to fall at His feet and confess Him as Lord
What possibilities must be excluded here?
Seeing Him merely as a great moral teacher,
a valuable leader of humanity,
or a religious founder is not appropriate
The choice is either to accept Him as Lord or to reject Him
there is no middle ground
Thus, 'The Shocking Alternative'
In this fallen world, where He has come
to invade and restore,
the path before us is to choose Him,
with our free will, as Lord,
the God who took on flesh
and came into this world
This chapter urges us to make that choice
In the next chapter,
Lewis explains that acknowledging Jesus as Lord
and kneeling before Him is true, sincere repentance
Chapter 3 The Shocking Alternative
1. Why Do Humans Go Against God’s Will?
Due to the free will given to humans
2. God, Humanity, and Free Will
1) Humans find happiness when exercising free will within God
2) Humans find unhappiness when exercising free will outside of God
Response to Jesus as the Son of God 1) Acceptance – Confess Jesus as Lord
2) Rejection - (1)Madman (2)Devil (deceiver)