Trilemma

I intend to make this a short blog entry: brief and to the point.



When I was in my spiritual journey en route back to the Catholic Church, I happened upon what is called C. S. Lewis's "trilemma" (he didn't invent it but it's become associated with him).  The intent was to point out that Jesus specifically rejected the possibility that, as so many think, He was a good but merely human teacher.  Someone who claims to be God, either directly or indirectly (as by not denying it and rebuking the one who said He was), either is God (and is therefore NOT a merely human teacher!) or else is not God (and is therefore NOT a good teacher!).

More specifically, if a man claims falsely to be God, either he knows he isn't God (and so is lying and invoking God's Name in the lie), or else he doesn't know it but imagines falsely that he is God (and so is insane).

Therefore the trilemma is this: given that Jesus claimed to be God (or at least refused to deny it or rebuke those who said He was), there are only three possibilities as to His identity.  Those three possibilities are as follows:



Lunatic (if He is not God but falsely imagines that He is)

Liar (if He is not God and knows it but claims to be so anyway)

Lord (if He is God)



The Catholic Church teaches that she, the Church, is the Mystical Body of Christ.  That being the case, therefore, if we are truly Christian, true followers of Jesus Christ, then we too will specifically reject any other possibility, not only for Our Lord but for ourselves.  Just as there is no possibility that Jesus was a "good but merely human teacher", there is no possibility that the Catholic Church is a "good but human-founded and human-run organization"--as in, one among many, more or less equally valid.

If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, then the world will only be capable of seeing us in one of the following ways:



Lunatics (not being in full communion with the Creator but falsely imagining that we are)

Liars (knowing full well that we are not in communion with the Creator but claiming we are anyway)

Servants of the Lord (actually being in full communion with the Creator)



And it isn't necessarily easy, either.  We might fool ourselves into thinking that we believe what the Catholic Church teaches and practice it to the best of our ability, but what if we are put to the test?  What if someone who rejects the idea that we are the Mystical Body of Christ were to say something like "Come on, you don't really believe that, do you?"  (This very non-argument has been used by real people.)

It's a non-argument because it doesn't even address the teaching of the faith.  Rather, it presumes before the fact (the definition of "prejudice") that the teaching is so absurd that a sane person would never "really" believe it.  Consequently it is accusing the Christian of merely pretending to believe it, akin to those who pretended they could see the Emperor's New Clothes.

By definition this is a weak approach.  It's a weak approach, but it's used anyway because it can easily ensnare those with weak faith.  It's good for us to know what the Church does and does not teach, and to a degree even to know why, so that we can be confident in our faith and be good apologists.  But at some point, knowledge must give way to faith.  At some point we must be willing to say "I don't know why the Church teaches this, but I believe it's true and I mean to act on that belief."  If we aren't, we succumb to peer pressure, and that means that our faith is weak.

But the point is this: this weak approach calls out those who are in fact lying to themselves, who in fact "don't really believe that" at all, but are pretending to for some purpose of their own.  It may not be an intentionally malicious purpose, but it is still lying to the self and others--and God Himself.  Therefore I suspect that, while these people don't intend such a thing, God is using them to weed out those with weak faith.



How many people would become believers if I said, "Come on, you don't really believe that the universe came into existence without the action and conscious will of a Creator, do you?"  Probably not many--and I would question the strength of the faith of those who seemed to be convinced of God's existence by my saying that.  Our Lord Himself didn't preach that way.

We are called to LOVE: there is no true faith, no true belief, without love.  What love is there in saying "Come on, you don't really believe that, do you?"  Even if you're right, saying that is presuming not only that your belief is true, but that it is obviously true--that only the insane could believe otherwise.

What does this really mean?  First, it denies revelation having a part in one's beliefs: if something is obviously true, so that only a lunatic could believe otherwise, then by definition we don't need to have it revealed to us--and the Church teaches not only that God has revealed things to us but that they were things we could NOT have come to on our own.

Second, it is arrogant, refusing to consider the possibility that there could be anything wrong with one's own beliefs, and that someone who disagrees might have a point and might be worth listening to.  It presumes that one knows all that one needs to know, which goes against what the Church teaches.

Third, it is making a serious judgment call against the other person, basically accusing that person of lying--and worse, lying about God.  Not only might this not be the case, but even if it is, how can we see clearly to remove the speck from the other's eye if we have a log in our own eye?

Fourth, substitute something else and see if there is anything Christlike about that rhetorical question: "Come on, you don't really think anyone will believe you were sexually molested by a priest, do you?"  The question "Who's going to believe you?" comes from the Devil, and we faithful in the Church must never let ourselves be deceived either into doubting that we will be believed (and so doubting the point of speaking up), nor into using this against other people.



Ultimately, though, my point is this: if we are true believers, then those who refuse to accept that the Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will find themselves in a dilemma about how to interpret our sayings and our behavior.  They will be inclined to believe one of the following things about us:

1) We are liars, but unbelievably good liars, so that we don't give any sign whatsoever of our lie;

or

2) We are insane, honestly believing things that aren't capable of being true and that "anyone" ought to know aren't capable of being true--and yet showing no other signs of mental illness.



It should go without saying that we must not actually be either of these things, not if we are true believers of Jesus Christ.  God is Truth itself, and so we do not follow Him if we lie (the Devil is the Father of Lies).  And God's ways are not our ways: we are finite, and we are fallen, and so to follow Him might seem like madness (how can salvation come from being nailed to a Cross?), but that's because of our perspective, not because it objectively is madness.  God knows what we do not, and He wills only good, unlike us.

How can sugar, which tastes so good, be bad for us and cause a disease like diabetes?  And if it can, how do we KNOW if we don't try it out for ourselves?

We cannot get by without trust, without faith--and there is no true faith without love.



I say this so that we can examine ourselves and see which category we fall into, so that we can do something about it if we are not being faithful--and also so that we can know others by their fruits, and recognize false Christians and expose and avoid them.

And again, being faithful doesn't mean we will never sin--only by God's grace can we avoid sinning--but that we genuinely sorrow for our sins and want to be liberated from sin, not only or even primarily for our sake (though certainly for that reason!), but simply because it breaks Our Lord's Heart to see us want to hurt ourselves, and we love Him too much to do that to Him.



Thank you for being with me.  God bless you all.