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Chapter 3 of Book 2

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is titled 'The Shocking Alternative'

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Since this was a broadcast talk,

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this continues from the previous chapter

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The previous chapter discussed

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how the world is now
occupied by rebelling forces

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against the absolutely good God

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and is in a state of defiance,
where God invades

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to confront and subdue
these rebellious forces,

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ultimately restoring His kingdom,

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a worldview that sees history
as the story of this divine reclaiming

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Then a question follows

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If this God is absolutely good,

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how is this possible?

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If God is an omnipotent being,

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how is such a rebellion possible?

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Wouldn’t that make this God
impotent and incompetent?

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The answer to this is simple

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It is because God created humans

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as beings with free will

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‘Free will’ explains
the possible rebellion,

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as well as the reason why

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a good God does not

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immediately eradicate a fallen world,

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but instead 'invades'
to restore it through

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Jesus Christ’s cross and resurrection

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C.S. Lewis, in Chapter 3

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titled ‘The Shocking Alternative,’

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explains the meaning, value,
and importance of human free will

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He takes a family as an example

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Imagine a mother teaching her young son

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The son struggles with
keeping his room tidy,

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while the mother’s desire is
for the room to be well-organized

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If she cleans it perfectly every day

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to meet her intention or will,

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the room would reflect her wishes,

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but the son would never
develop a habit of tidying

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He would not be able to learn
through doing it himself

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So, how will the son change

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from this state of not tidying,

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to one of tidiness,
into the mother's will?

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This requires a process
and a period of waiting

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Time is needed for the son to develop

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the habit of tidying
through his own free will

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This is the kind of time

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unfolding in our world today

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God did not create humans
as mechanical beings

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If we were incapable
of rebellion or betrayal,

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we would be without free will.

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And without free will,

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we could not experience true joy

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No one fills a room with the finest dolls

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and finds joy in calling them

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their beloved children

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Even if they sometimes cause trouble,

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disobey, or make mistakes,

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we find joy in them
as beings with free will

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Because, despite sometimes
doing things that aren’t good,

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a young child calls out to mom or dad,

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runs into their arms, relies on them,

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smiles at them, and
shares in the family’s joy

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It is this free will in a child

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that brings happiness

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to us as humans

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When God created humans in His image,

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He made them as beings with free will

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The value of free will lies in

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(Potential to do evil)
allowing potential betrayal

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Only then is it truly free will

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Without the freedom to betray,
it is not true freedom

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Having only the freedom to obey

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is not complete freedom

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God gave humans complete freedom,

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creating them as beings
who, through this freedom,

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can serve Him personally,

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love Him with free will, and glorify Him

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through their voluntary actions

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Humans used their free will

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(Misusing the free will)
to join the evil and rebellion,

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This brought sin into humanity

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and turned them into rebels against God

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Because humans, created by God

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as good and precious beings, fell,

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the world became all the worse

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Humanity’s fall has steeped

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the whole world in corruption

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C.S. Lewis explains,

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'The better stuff a creature
is made of, the worse it will be

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if it goes wrong'

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Humans were created

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from nobler materials than any other

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and, above all, were endowed with

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the precious gift of free will

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Because no other creature
has this freedom,

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humanity’s fall has had
a far greater impact

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Thus, we can understand how

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the world has fallen simply
by looking at humanity itself

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So Lewis says,

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'There was the idea

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that they could be like gods,

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invent some sort of happiness

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for themselves outside God,
and apart from God'

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'The reason it can never success is this'

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'God made us. He invented us'

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The humans God created can
only find true happiness in Him,

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and their free will can experience joy

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and fulfillment only when
it is directed toward God

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Here's a simple example

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Just as a car runs only with gasoline,

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we function properly

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only when God dwells within us

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In the latter part, C.S. Lewis argues

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that, given a world

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marked by fallen humanity,
rebellion, and evil forces,

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we must respond to Jesus,

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who came with a mission

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to invade this broken realm
and restore it to God

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But Jesus’ self-claims are
profoundly shocking,

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hence the chapter title,
‘The Shocking Alternative'

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“Because Jesus made
incredibly shocking claims

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that are difficult for us to accept

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He described Himself
as one who can forgive sins

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He also said,

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‘Before Abraham was, I am,’

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and claimed to be God Himself

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He made extraordinary
claims about Himself,

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claims that cannot be found

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in any other religious leader,

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philosopher, thinker, or moral sage

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How can we think of someone

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who claims to be God as
merely a great person?

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It’s not that He isn’t great,

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but we mustn’t regard Him
as just a moral human

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or one of many saints

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Jesus claims to be the Son of God

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The question is whether
we accept Him or not

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We must not view Him

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as merely another religious leader

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So here is a famous quote be C.S. Lewis

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Let me read it out to you

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and then explain further

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‘"I am ready to accept Jesus
as a great moral teacher,

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 but I don’t accept His claim to be God."'

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'This is the one thing we must not say'

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'As a mere man who
said the sort of things,

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Jesus said would not be
a great moral teacher'

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He would either be a lunatic,

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on a level with the man

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who says he is a poached egg,

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or else he would be the Devil of Hell'

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'You must make your choice'

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'Either this man was, and is,

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the Son of God,

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or else a madman or something worse'

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'You can shut Him up for a fool,

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you can spit at Him and
kill Him as a demon'

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'Or, you can fall at His feet
and call Him Lord and God'

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'But let us not come with
any patronizing nonsense

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about His being a great human teacher'

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'He has not left that open to us'

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'He did not intend to'

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There’s a hidden chart in
C.S. Lewis’s famous statement

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The first possibility

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is that Jesus could be a madman

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a lunatic claiming

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to be a poached egg

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If He wasn’t God

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but believed He was and claimed to be,

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that would indicate a mental issue,

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similar to someone
thinking they’re an egg

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The first option we have

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in response to Jesus’ claims
is to regard Him as a madman

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What's the second option?

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If He knew He wasn’t God

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but claimed to be, then He would be

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a fraud, a deceiver, even a devil

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That’s why Lewis uses
the term ‘Devil of Hell'

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If He were not truly God
but only pretending,

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deceiving and continually

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leading people astray,
then He would be a devil

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Do you think it’s possible

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that Jesus claimed to be Messiah

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and then orchestrated

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all the surrounding events

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to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies?

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Over 200 specific Messianic prophecies

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were fulfilled in Jesus alone

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Could He have manipulated these himself,

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involving those around Him?

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Could He have arranged
for His own crucifixion,

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for His bones to remain unbroken,

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for His betrayal by a disciple,

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or His burial in a rich man’s tomb?

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Do you think He arranged in advance

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for Joseph of Arimathea to place His body

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in his tomb to fulfill prophecy,

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or asked Judas Iscariot to betray Him,

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suggesting that

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since He was the Messiah,

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and because Judas was the most
suitable person for the task?

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Are such things even possible?

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The entire life and events of Jesus

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are not the kind that one person
could orchestrate with others

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Therefore, He could not be

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a fraud or a devil,

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much less a madman

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The more we meditate on Jesus' word,

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and the truth hidden within,

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the more we find that His words are true

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Even those who don’t believe in Him

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find power when they
take His words to heart

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Even those who do not
believe in Jesus’ divinity,

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viewing Him only as a man,

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experience life changes
when they read His words

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The renowned African doctor
Albert Schweitzer,

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('The Saint of Africa,’ who explored
Jesus from a historical perspective)

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did not acknowledge Jesus’ divinity

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He acknowledged
only the humanity of Jesus,

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yet lived an admirable life

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But can we really say
that such words of Jesus

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came from a madman?

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Now, the third option remains

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C.S. Lewis presents only one option left,

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to fall at His feet and
confess Him as Lord

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What possibilities must be excluded here?

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Seeing Him merely as
a great moral teacher,

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a valuable leader of humanity,

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or a religious founder is not appropriate

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The choice is either to accept
Him as Lord or to reject Him

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there is no middle ground

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Thus, 'The Shocking Alternative'

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In this fallen world, where He has come

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to invade and restore,

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the path before us is to choose Him,

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with our free will, as Lord,

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the God who took on flesh

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and came into this world

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This chapter urges us to make that choice

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In the next chapter,

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Lewis explains that
acknowledging Jesus as Lord

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and kneeling before Him is
true, sincere repentance

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Chapter 3 The Shocking Alternative

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1.	Why Do Humans Go Against God’s Will?

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Due to the free will given to humans

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2.	God, Humanity, and Free Will

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1)	Humans find happiness when
exercising free will within God

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2) Humans find unhappiness when
exercising free will outside of God

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Response to Jesus as the Son of God
1) Acceptance – Confess Jesus as Lord

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2) Rejection - (1)Madman
(2)Devil (deceiver)