This One Thing Makes Christianity Different From Every Other Religion

hi my name is father Mike Schmitz and this is essential presents so just quick little intro we're going to do things differently for the next couple videos because it's months of month of September Ascension was like Father you've started recording the catechism in the air that's little bit you know little extra work also students are back on campus which is bit of extra work they said how about this how about we just are good citizens you know what good citizens do they reduce they reuse they recycle so we're not going to reduce but let's reuse let's reuse and recycle some stuff that they said how about you had made these videos in the past for us that people haven't really seen yet or many people haven't seen yet so how about we put them out there the first one today is mean so indebted to C.S Lewis for for this video I'm I'm so grateful for his argument from in Mere Christianity about is Jesus who he says he is because one of the things people say about Jesus is that well don't really believe he was God but he was good person don't believe he was God but he was holy holy you know prophet C.S Lewis says that's the one thing you can't say about Jesus so here's this video we made few years back and hope that it convicts your mind and your heart the same way that this argument convicted my mind and my heart it led me to place where could say no Jesus is who he says he is so back in college took class called world religions actually took number of these classes it was really good because it is good to study what people have believed throughout history what people believe throughout the world it's great to study the differences and know some of the similarities one of the things found though is that virtually all of these classes that took you get textbook and each chapter in the book will be divided up according to different religion so chapter one would be in Buddhism then Confucianism then Christianity then Islam Judaism Zoroastrianism taoism whatever it is and you'd go through the book and you'd study the different points of the different religions and look at their merits and look at their faults the problem was that when you studied Christianity they didn't appreciate the fact that Christianity is uniquely different than all other world religions here's what mean all world religions were founded by someone who either claimed to have insight into God or they claimed to have revelation from God but Christianity was founded by someone Jesus Christ who didn't claim to have insight into God or Revelation from God Jesus actually claimed be God and so when we study world religions especially when we're looking for like what's true like what actually is unique what is the one that can believe in when it comes to Christianity we don't have to just jump to like the minute details we have to jump to the articles of the Creed all we have to do is answer this one question is Jesus who he says he is because he claims to be God and if he's not then all of Christianity is false but if he is that all of Christianity is going to be true now I'll talk to people all the time we'll say things like well believe Jesus was holy person he was prophet but don't believe that Jesus was God C.S Lewis who is an author and who's talk about this lot he'd say that's the one thing about Jesus that you can't say and can't say that he was holy person but not God why because he actually claimed to be God and if he wasn't God then that means he was not good person he was either liar he wasn't God and he knew he wasn't God or he was lunatic he wasn't God but he didn't know he wasn't God or he actually is who he says he is he is the Lord that's called the trilemma Jesus is either liar he's lunatic or he is the Lord so let's look at this first maybe Jesus is liar maybe he was lying now interesting if you ever study the personality profile of someone who's compulsive liar or even someone who does like basically lies for living someone who is is professional liar and if you're going to pull off the lie that says you are the creator of the universe that means you are incredibly committed to this lie when you look at that personality profile that psychological profile of someone who lies like that they have certain traits they are incredibly narcissistic they're incredibly self-involved they lack certain compassion they lack creativity but when we study the life of Jesus you see the exact opposite you see someone who is incredibly creative you see someone who is incredibly self-giving someone who's completely compassionate and not self-involved so Jesus at least doesn't fit the profile of liar so maybe he's lunatic maybe he wasn't God and but he didn't know he wasn't God now this is think fascinating because our degree of Sanity like all of us our degree of sanity matches up with our degree of being conformed to reality or in touch with reality here's what mean if were to say I'm priest then my degree of sanity conforms to reality rights am priest but if were to say something like am the best priest in the world then would be slightly actually largely disconnected from reality and if you were talking with me for any amount of time you'd quickly catch on to the fact okay this priest is not connected to reality but what if were even further disconnected and said I'm I'm the pope and really believed that was the Holy Father but don't tell anyone pretty quickly you'd realize that was not connected to reality but if was even further disconnected and said like am Marie Antoinette and you can have cake very very quickly you would catch on okay this guy is not connected to reality and if was so far gone so far disconnected from reality that really believed that was butterfly and really am butterfly and you should have known you should have you should have been there when was in that cocoon it was just it was crazy really tight quarters like you would Quan this is not connected to reality now Jesus is unique because he doesn't just claim to be the greatest prophet of all time he doesn't just claim to be Elijah come back from the dead Jesus actually claims to be God the maker everything in the universe and if he was disconnected from reality that way if he wasn't really God people all around him would very very quickly catch on to the fact that he isn't who he says he is and yet when you read the story what you get is he actually is living he is walking he is talking he's acting like he's connected to reality so Jesus isn't liar he isn't lunatic that leaves only one option left if he actually is who he says is that he's the Lord now that good that doesn't prove that he is we need in order in order for us to believe in Jesus we need to have him prove it so that's what he does mean honestly if someone walked into the room where you are right now and said hello everyone am God you wouldn't just say okay and back in the day they didn't either sometimes we think that because they lived so long ago they were simple like they didn't know how to do stuff they didn't know how to like program their TiVo they didn't know how to use iPods therefore they were just dumb and if someone came on the scene and just claimed to be God they would just completely believe him but they didn't in fact when Jesus came on the scene and claimed to be God they did what we do they asked him to do what we would ask him to do and what is that they asked him to prove it so that's what Jesus does his whole life in the last three years of his ministry is him proving that he is who he says he is in fact the second chapter of Mark's gospel there's the scene you've probably heard of it where there's one paralyzed man and his four friends are carrying him on stretcher to Jesus but there's so many people in the house where Jesus is they couldn't get through the door so they opened the roof and they do some remodeling right and they they make skylight and they lower the guy down in front of Jesus it says Jesus looked at their faith looked the man and he said your sins are forgiven and at that moment everyone's like whoa whoa whoa who but God can forgive sins and Jesus is like know right this guy but he says to prove to you that am who say am he says the man rise pick up your mat and walk Jesus claimed to be God and then he proves that he is who he says he is in fact that's why in Saint John's gospel when you talk about miracles he doesn't use the word Miracles he uses the term signs and wonders what does science do science always point to something else all of Jesus is Miracles all of his signs and wonders those signs all point to the fact that Jesus is who he says he is and the greatest Miracle of Jesus's life is actually at his death crucified and when he is dead what he ultimately does to prove that he is who he says he is that he is the Lord of Life he's the one who can conquer death he's the one who made everything he rises from the dead and this is remarkable because this sign this wonder is so wondrous that it absolutely takes all of the disciples and all the apostles by surprise mean think about this throughout Jesus's life doesn't he say that here's what's going to happen we're going to Jerusalem they're going to arrest me they're going to torture me they're going to kill me I'm going to die but don't worry because after three days I'm gonna rise from the dead have you ever noticed that when it actually happens all the apostles are like what's going on they're all freaking out in fact we know Jesus dies on Friday they blame him in the tomb three days later on Sunday morning it says these women are going to the tomb not because they say it's Sunday he's alive again because they're going to the they're going to the tomb because they're like we need to anoint his body for burial they expect him to be dead he's dead they expected him to stay dead and when they get to the tomb and the stones roll back they're not like yeah that's right they're like what's going on and they look in the Tomb and the body's gone they're not like yeah that's right they're like what's going on in fact they all leave but Mary Magdalene stays behind in that Garden outside the tomb and she's weeping not for Joy because he's alive she's weeping because she thinks someone stole his body so much so that when she sees Jesus she thinks he's guard in her she says if you've taken his body take me to where you put him because I'll I'll re-berry him basically and this is Jesus she's talking to love the moment because Jesus basically looks at Mary he says one word he says her name like Mary hello and Mary realizes this is Jesus he is who he says he is to share overnight so she she runs Mary runs in Joy to the other Apostles and tells them Jesus rose from the dead always saw him alive and you think the apostles would be like my gosh that's was that today we totally forgot we spaced that but they say nope nope nope not not doesn't happen only two of the Apostles think about of the remaining 11 only two of the Apostles run to the tomb to even check out her story Peter and John and when they get there you'd think that they would say yeah but they're like what's going on in fact an angel has to come to them and say remember what he said just imagine this like rubbing his temples like he said he would have to die and rise from the dead that's today they return home amazed and bewildered later on that day that same Sunday the apostles are all together with the disciples and the doors are locked and Jesus appears to them he says this is my body my flesh my whole self risen from the dead and they're amazed remember there's one Apostle though who wasn't there Thomas always picture Thomas like he was out in an errand something getting groceries and he like does the secret knock and they let him in like Thomas we saw Jesus he's alive again and he'd be like man always miss out on everything but Thomas he doesn't say that he doesn't say that's right he says Nope nope I'm not going to believe this remember Thomas even actually goes so far as to say unless put my fingers in the nail marks and my hand in his side will not believe so what happens one week later the next Sunday they're all together in one place and Saint John makes the point of saying that this time Thomas was with them and Jesus appears in the locked room imagine Thomas's face looking at she says no but Jesus looks at Thomas and he says dummy put her there Thomas falls to his knees and he says five words my Lord and my God because Jesus has just proven he is who he says he is he's not liar he's not lunatic he is the Lord Jesus is who he says he is he is God and if Jesus is who he says he is then that means you are who he says you are so who is it that Jesus says you are