Back to series
Armand M. Nicholi Testimonial
"The claim of Jesus Christ to be God and to have the authority to forgive sins left only one of three possibilities: he was either deluded or deliberately attempting to deceive his followers for some ulterior purpose, or he was who he claimed to be. As Lewis continued his reading of the New Testament documents, he agreed with Chesterton that the evidence weighed against this Person being evil or psychotic. (Psychiatrists do indeed see people who claim to be God; but they are invariably severely impaired in their functioning and have a distorted concept of reality.) For Lewis, the eyewitness accounts of the New Testament did not reflect the teachings of a lunatic . He notes 'the general agreement that in the teaching of this Man and of His immediate followers, moral truth is exhibited at its purest and best…it is full of wisdom and shrewdness…the product of a sane mind.' [Dock p156] Later he closed a chapter in his most widely read book with 'A man who was merely a man and said the things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic...or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice...You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.'
This resource is part of a series on Mere Christianity. Click here to listen to the full series.

Armand M. Nicholi
PhysicianArmand M. Nicholi (1928-2017), Physician, was a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital. His clinical work and research focused on the impact of absent parents on the emotional development of children and young adults. He was the editor and coauthor of the classic The Harvard Guide to Psychiatry (3rd edition, 1999). He was also a founding board member of the Family Research Council.

COPYRIGHT: This publication is published by C.S. Lewis Institute; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 301; Springfield, VA 22151. Portions of the publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church or ministry use without prior permission. Electronic copies of the PDF files may be duplicated and transmitted via e-mail for personal and church use. Articles may not be modified without prior written permission of the Institute. For questions, contact the Institute: 703.914.5602 or email us.
-
Recent Podcasts
Chasing Proof, Finding Faith – Dr. Tom Rudelius’ Story
by Jana Harmon, Tom Rudelius on May 23, 2025Dr. Tom Rudelius is a theoretical physicist whose...Read More
-
Don’t Leave Your Brains at the Box Office
by Steven Garber, Aimee Riegert on May 16, 2025
-
Leaving Deception Behind – Vince Revo’s Story
by Vince Revo, Jana Harmon on May 9, 2025
-
Recent Publications
Is God Just, Not Fair?
by Jennifer Rothschild on May 15, 2025Have you ever questioned the fairness of God?...Read More
-
Seeking Dietrich Bonhoeffer
by Joseph A. Kohm on April 29, 2025
-
Who Is The Real Jesus?
by John R.W. Stott on April 1, 2025
0
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
24770
GLOBAL EVENT: From Gold Medalist to God’s Missionary (Eric Liddell), 8:00PM ET
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/?event=global-event-from-gold-medalist-to-gods-missionary-eric-liddell-800pm-et&event_date=2025-06-13®=1
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
2025-06-13

Next coming event
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
GLOBAL EVENT: From Gold Medalist to God’s Missionary (Eric Liddell), 8:00PM ET
On June 13, 2025 at 8:00 pmCategories
Speakers
Armand M. Nicholi
Physician
Team Members

Armand M. Nicholi
PhysicianArmand M. Nicholi (1928-2017), Physician, was a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital. His clinical work and research focused on the impact of absent parents on the emotional development of children and young adults. He was the editor and coauthor of the classic The Harvard Guide to Psychiatry (3rd edition, 1999). He was also a founding board member of the Family Research Council.
