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[Book Mitten]

It could be the case that Jesus was a supernatural being but that there is nothing beyond that. In such a case, "God" as he is conceived of in literature is not lying, because he doesn't exist in the way he is depicted, in a literalist biblical conception at least.

[jimwalton]

Maybe we should go back and discuss Jesus some more. I guess we'd have to define God as revealed in the literature and see if Jesus conformed to that picture. I would say, just to get us started, that God reveals himself in the Bible as a supreme supernatural divine being. Swinburne perceives Him this way, and I concur:

"God is a non-embodied personal spirit who exists as omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, and necessarily so. He cannot not be these attributes. His essence is an eternal essence. He is self-existent and the personal ground of being. He has reason, intentions, and free will (perfectly free). He is perfectly moral and good (His moral judgments have truth value). He is completely rational (he is subject to no non-rational influences); He always has a just, moral, and rational reason for His actions). He has capacities that are as great as they logically can be. He is the terminus of complete explanation. No greater being can be conceived."

Obviously there's even more to it than that. God, as revealed in the Bible, has attributes of righteousness, holiness, love, judgment, mercy, and grace.

So let's talk!