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Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He has always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time. Now let us get this clear. Among Pantheists, like the Indians, anyone might say that he was a part of God, or one with God: there would be nothing very odd about it. But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God. God, in their language, meant the Being outside of the world, who had made it and was infinitely different from anything else. And when you have grasped that, you will see that what this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips.

C. S. Lewis#68

TheologyDivinityHistoryContextJesus

About this quote

What does it mean?
Lewis argues that Jesus's claims to be God were shocking in a Jewish context because God was seen as distinct from creation, unlike in pantheism.
In plain terms
Jesus claiming to be God was very shocking to Jews who saw God as separate from the world.
What can you take from it?
Jesus's claims were unique and radical in his cultural context.

Where it applies

  • apologetics
  • theological study
  • historical analysis

Putting it to work

  • study historical context
  • reflect on claims

Questions to consider

  • How does context change meaning?
  • What do you think about these claims?

Another view

It assumes a specific interpretation of Jewish theology.

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  3. What can you ever really know of other people's souls - of their temptations, their opportunities, their struggles? One soul in the whole of creation you do kn…

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