Jesus: liar, lunatic, legend… or Lord?

Unbelievable? the Saturday morning radio show where Christians and not-Christians debate issues of faith and ethics, has produced a conference – also called Unbelievable? – which is now in its third year.

This year’s conference focuses on Jesus: Liar, Lunatic, Legend… or Lord? and takes place in London on Saturday 25th May.

We asked Justin Brierley, the host of the radio show and the conference, to tell us what it’s all about.

‘This year is the 50th anniversary of the death of CS Lewis,’ says Justin. ‘Our main theme picks up his famous trilemma, where he says that the logic of the story of Jesus means that you must decide whether he is a liar, a lunatic or Lord.’

The conference title adds a fourth category, though. Says Justin: ‘We’ve also added the question of whether Jesus was just a legend, because that’s an accusation often levelled at Christians. Are the four gospels just myth and make-believe? We want to address that important question.’

The conference, which has established itself as the leading UK event for apologetics and evangelism, will also include a seminar strand on the imaginative legacy of CS Lewis.

‘What Lewis did so effectively – and which no one has bettered since – was to combine argument and reason with incredible imagination,’ says Justin. ‘His Narnia and science fiction books, as well as his gift for analogy in his non-fiction writings, puts across the Christian faith in a way that connects with both the mind and the imagination.’

Headlining the conference speakers is theologian Alister McGrath, author of The Dawkins Delusion? whose new biography, CS Lewis: A Life, has just been published.

While the conference is intended primarily for Christians, helping them understand and share their faith better, it also welcomes a good number of agnostics and atheists each year.

‘They often provide some of the most interesting questions in the Q&A sessions!’ says Justin.

Unbelievable? The Conference 2013 takes place at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SD on Saturday 25th May 2013. More information here.