They were unique in that they were immediate, always successful, had no known re lapses, and healed illnesses that were incurable by medicine, such as persons born blind (John 9). These were not healings of delusional illnesses, nor were they explainable on natural grounds. From his very first miracle in Cana of Galilee (John 2:11), Jesus’ ministry was marked by its miracles (cf. Of all human conceptions, Jesus’ stands as unique and miraculous. Luke, a physician, records this miraculous inception of human life (Luke 1:26f.) Paul alludes to it in Galatians 4:4. While announcing his virgin conception, Matthew (1:22–23) points to the prophecy of Isaiah (7:14). Christ was not only supernaturally anticipated he was also miraculously conceived. This is not true of any great religious leader or person who has ever lived, including Muhammad. The Old Testament predicted that Christ would die for our sins (Psalm 22 Isaiah 53 Daniel 9:26 Zechariah 12:10) and would rise from the dead (Psalms 2:7 16:10).Īll of these supernatural prophecies were uniquely fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He would come through the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and would be the son of David (2 Samuel 7:12f.). He would be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15) from the line of Adam’s son Seth (Genesis 4:26), through Noah’s son Shem (Genesis 9:26–27), and Abraham (Genesis 12:3 15:5). The Old Testament, which even the most ardent critic acknowledges was in existence centuries before Christ, predicted the where (Micah 5:2), the when (Daniel 9:26), and the how (Isaiah 7:14) of Christ’s entry into the world. Centuries before his birth he was foretold by supernatural prophecy. Jesus lived a miracle-filled and supernaturally empowered existence from his conception to his ascension. Some of this evidence is seen in other aspects of Christ’s uniqueness. This as a claim alone makes him unique above all other religious leaders or persons who have ever lived, and it can be backed up with factual evidence. All heresies regarding Christ deny one or both of these propositions. The Nicene Creed (AD 325) states the uniform belief of all orthodox Christianity that Christ was fully God and fully man in one person. The New Testament teaches the fully unified deity and humanity of Christ. Jesus Christ was unique in that he alone, of all who ever lived, was both God and man. From these documents we learn that numerous facets of Christ are absolutely unique. The New Testament record, especially the Gospels, is one of the most reliable documents from the ancient world. The truth about Christ is based primarily on the New Testament documents which have been shown elsewhere to be authentic. Deity and HumanityĬhristianity is unique among world religions, and Christ’s true uniqueness is the centerpiece of Christianity. I think I should put Buddha and Socrates above him in those respects' (Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian). In his essay 'Why I Am Not a Christian', the agnostic Bertrand Russell wrote, 'Historically it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all, and if he did we know nothing about him.' As to Christ’s character, he said, 'I cannot myself feel that either in the matter of wisdom or in the matter of virtue Christ stands quite as high as some other people known to history. Liberal Christians and many others hold Christ as a good human being and a great moral example. Hinduism depicts Christ as one among many great gurus. Others, such as Muslims, think that Jesus was a prophet, along with other prophets. However, some unbelievers, who may or may not believe Jesus existed, do not believe that Jesus was necessarily a wise or a particularly good man. Orthodox Christians believe that Jesus is the unique Son of God in human flesh.