Jesus: The Smartest Man Who Ever Lived

Posted by on
It was the late Dallas Willard who was fond of saying, "Jesus Christ is the smartest man who ever lived."  Have you ever thought of Jesus in this way?  If you are a Christian, it is important that you realize that seeing Jesus as intelligent and smart is critical to your discipleship.  Why? Simply put, if you don't think your teacher is very bright, you aren't going to learn much from Him.  Further, if Jesus is thought of as irrelevant to your intellect, you will not go to Him to learn how to live. And if you don't go to Him to learn how to live, then you are not His disciple.

I am confident that the following resources will broaden your view of Jesus and what it means to love Him "with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).

Articles

How Did Jesus Argue?  Jesus and Logic by J.P. Moreland

Jesus: Philosopher and Apologist by Doug Groothuis

Jesus the Logician by Dallas Willard

Who Is Your Teacher? by Dallas Willard

Jesus Used Logic by Dave Miller

The Apologetics of Jesus by Patrick Zukeran

Audio/Video

Jesus as a Logician and Apologist by Dallas Willard

Loving God with All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland

Jesus: The Smartest Man Who Ever Lived by Lenny Esposito 

Books

 Loving God with All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland

Logic and the Way of Jesus: Thinking Critically and Christianly by Travis Dickinson

On Jesus by Doug Groothuis

The Apologetics of Jesus by Norm Geisler and Patrick Zukeran

The Great Omission by Dallas Willard

The Philosophy of Jesus by Peter Kreeft

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Related Posts

Jesus Argued Reductio Ad Absurdum

Jesus as God in His Parables

The Incarnation: Could God Become Man Without Ceasing to Be God? By James A. Parker III

Comments

Anonymous said…
Jesus is not the smartest man whoever lived. I would have to say Isaac Newton was the smartest. He developed core understanding of calculus, practically made physics, and made a bunch of other discoveries as well. Too bad he had a mental breakdown. That man could have probably came up with Einstein's theory about gravity given enough time and technology. Jesus doesn't even rank in the top ten. Using the bible as a source for your argument is null and void considering most of the things written in the bible were based off of a certain area. To claim that jesus was an intellectual is very surprising considering he didn't even contribute to the sciences in any way or help broaden the understanding of the universe.
October 13, 2012 at 11:48 PM
Chad said…
Hello Anonymous One,

So, what did you think of the resources offered here?

Respectfully
October 14, 2012 at 1:50 PM
Anonymous said…
Post up some peer reviewed articles then it might be worth looking at.
January 5, 2013 at 6:17 PM
Chad said…
Anonymous One,

Do you only look at peer-reviewed articles?

Respectfully
February 2, 2013 at 9:38 PM
David B Marshall said…
I peer review articles sometimes, and I have to say, Mark, your idolization of the process is extremely naïve. The process does not test for genius. Like big dogs, really smart people often feel less need to prove that they're smart. Of course Jesus was not a scientist, though some historians of science (including one I know at Oxford) credit the movement he started as aiding the rise of modern science. More obviously, many of the greatest geniuses in human history, including psychological and literary genius like Dickens and Tolstoy and Lin Yutang, and many of the world's greatest reformers, have recognized Jesus as a transcendent genius to whom they looked up.
February 21, 2017 at 9:06 PM
Anonymous said…
So a person can only be considered a genius if they contribute to the sciences? Interesting.
March 21, 2017 at 9:15 PM
Unknown said…
Dear anonymous,


Could you please offer peer reviewed articles in support of your claims regarding Isaac Newton?

Sincerely,
Equivalent Standards.
March 23, 2017 at 10:13 AM
Post a Comment