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[Wanna Be A Part]

If Jesus lived a perfect life, then so have thousands of others

One of the central teachings of Christianity is that Jesus Christ lived a perfect/sinless life as a mortal man on Earth. Most Christian denominations additionally claim that Jesus is the only human of whom this can be said, although some attribute that quality to a few other individuals as well, such as Mary.

The gospels (Luke especially) actually paint a lively, colorful picture of Jesus. He lives with his disciples, as one of them. He helps people, and teaches them. He curses. He celebrates. He questions God. He gets angry, quite often. He heals the sick.

No one familiar with the gospels will deny that they describe Jesus as a man of great virtue, goodness, and supreme wisdom. To live life to the standards set forth by Jesus is a high ideal to aspire to, and to achieve it is a rare thing indeed.

But of course, it is not unheard of.

History is actually full of descriptions of people whose (claimed) virtues match those of the biblical Jesus. Socrates, Buddha, Marcus Aurelius are just some famous examples that come to mind, and many biographies of Christian saints similarly describe people who apparently lack any vices whatsoever, while dedicating their entire lives to the benefit of others. Of course, the actual number of individuals throughout history of whom this can be said must be in the thousands, with most of them having faded from memory.

Indeed, there are literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people alive today whose entire existence revolves around service to others. They are healers, teachers, and protectors, all of course with their own uniquely human qualities and attributes – just like the biblical Jesus. There is no discernable quality that sets him apart from them.

Therefore, to claim that Jesus was truly the only human to live a perfect life seems to imply one of the following:

1. All historic accounts of other people living "perfect" lives are fake/embellished (but not the one about Jesus of course) and they in fact were not as blameless as their biographies say.
2. Jesus alone lived a perfect life by definition, that is, because he alone was the son of God rather than because of his actions (a variant of the "God is good because he is God" tautology).

[jimwalton]

I was most intrigued by your comments that Luke says about Jesus: "He curses. ... He questions God. He gets angry, quite often." I've read Luke a lot, and I guess you need to show me where these are, because these are sort of the foundation of your case that Jesus is mostly a nice guy but not really different from other mostly nice guys.

The point of the Bible is not that Jesus was virtuous, but instead that He never sinned, ever—a claim that no one else can make, whether Socrates, Buddha, Marcus Aurelius, or even Chris Pratt, all of whom had or have vices.

Also, the point of the Bible is not that Jesus's life revolved around service, but that He was God, sinless, and He came to die for the sins of the world. That's what sets him apart from others.

> All historic accounts of other people living "perfect" lives are fake/embellished (but not the one about Jesus of course) and they in fact were not as blameless as their biographies say.

This is a logical fallacy. Because your description fits some in the group doesn't mean it necessarily fits all in the group.

> Jesus alone lived a perfect life by definition, that is, because he alone was the son of God rather than because of his actions (a variant of the "God is good because he is God" tautology).

It's not a tautology, nor circular reasoning. We don't claim Jesus lived a perfect life just because we claim He was God. We believe He lived a perfect life because we can examine what we know of His life (the evidence) and it is perfect. Then based on his incarnation, miracles, perfection, and resurrection (the evidence) we can also conclude He was God. That's not tautological but instead evidentiary.

We obviously need to talk more. Let's talk.