The call it the Lord, Liar or Lunatic Trilemma.
It was made popular by Josh McDowell, but I understand it first came from C.S. Lewis. In summary, Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, among other things. You cannot simply say He was a good teacher. Either he was lying about being the Son of God, or He was a madman who really believed it, or He was the Son of God as He claimed.
Yes, one could pick it apart logically, but the impact is still sharp. The point here is, the same thing can be applied to anyone who claims to be a prophet of God.
I have made such a claim. Further, I put myself in a bind by claiming to have a predictive message from God: If America sends troops and/or vehicles against Iran, we will fail and fail miserably in battle. I can’t pretend to speak for other nations involved, or if they act alone. I know only my firm conviction what will happen to the US. I say without hesitation this is a word from God.
If we do go to war against Iran, and after a reasonable time frame, what I say does not happen, then I am wrong and it’s not a Word from God. The Bible says some pretty harsh things about people who claim to speak for God and it turns out false. For the time being, I rather doubt anyone will attempt to carry out the provisions of the Law of Moses, but it would be justified, in one sense.
You see, my pronouncement of this message as being from God arises from a certain set of beliefs. This is what I honestly believe, so the liar option is gone. If my message is wrong, so are all of my beliefs. But this is not something I can simply correct by changing my mind. These beliefs, so far as I can tell, arose from outside my intellectual control. These beliefs aren’t going away. That is, if I’m wrong, I’m going to question my grip on reality altogether.
It seems to me in my rational mind we are dangerously close to attacking Iran. I’m so deeply committed to honesty, I need to set this in stone, as it were, before we get there. If we attack Iran and subdue the government, and if after some reasonable interval, nothing happens to our troops and equipment, then I will find myself unable to continue writing. I won’t be able to trust my own mind, and I would hate for any of my readers to keep on trusting me, and be led astray by my madness.
It’s possible we won’t do it, in which case we’ll never know either way. The point is, I want to make clear I know what’s at stake. If this fails to come true, I’m pulling all my stuff from the Net. Not out of embarrassment, but out of a concern for everyone else, because if I can’t trust my own heart on this, you and I would be crazy to think anything else I say is worth the trouble.
