A story of Tolstoy was related by Prof. Irwin Weil [1]: A young Jewish man wrote to Tolstoy a few months before the latter died, and asked how a Jew could believe his teachings which were based on the words of Jesus Christ. Tolstoy replied, “The words of Christ are not important and applicable because they were said by Christ, on the contrary, they were said by Christ because they are true and inscribed in the heart of every human being”.
I’ve written about my admiration for Tolstoy many times, including a post discussing his religious beliefs. Tolstoy followed Jesus’ moral teachings as the commandments of God, but didn’t believe in the Divinity of Jesus nor the Resurrection. The Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated him in 1901, and, more than 100 years later, still would not relent[2]. One modern Orthodox theologian labelled Tolstoy “practically a liberal Protestant”, reflecting the fact that his view resonates with many people today[3]. I share Tolstoy’s presupposition that God has inscribed the moral law in the heart of man, but I disagree with his perception of Christ as a human, not divine, teacher of morality, basing my arguments on the same Gospels which he believed.
Who Can be a Teacher of Morality?
Firstly, to have the authority to teach the moral law, one would need to know the moral law as well as the giver of the law does. God is the author of the moral law, therefore, without the full knowledge of God, all teachers of morality are nothing but “blind leaders of the blind”.
Secondly, to qualify as a teacher of morality, one must possess the goodness demanded by the moral law. However, as it is written, “No one is good but One, that is, God”. There is no standard of goodness besides Him. Therefore, He alone possesses the goodness demanded of a teacher of morality.
Thirdly, the purpose of the moral law is clearly stated in the Gospels, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” A human teacher, who is far from perfect himself, cannot make his students perfect. “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.” Only when the teacher is God Himself, can the disciple be made perfect like Him.
Fourthly, as Aristotle writes in “Eudemian Ethics”, knowing justice is not the same as being just. A human teacher may be able to impart some notion of morality, but he has no power at all to change human nature. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!” Only the Creator has the power to transform man, to make a new creation out of the old. Jesus is the Saviour, for He alone has the power to deliver man from sin and death, and transform man into His own image. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
Fifthly, the greatest moral law is none other than Love. ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The Triune God is Love. No human being can love as God does. No human being can be perfectly loved by the Father, unless he abides in the Son, the Beloved.
In summary, Jesus Christ is the Author, Teacher and Perfecter of the Moral Law, because He is God Incarnate.
Notes:
1^. “Irwin Weil on Dostoevsky”. YouTube. April 30, 2012. Accessed December 25, 2017. https://youtu.be/ayh-ehvFVfU?t=1h5m19s.
2^. Barry, Ellen, and Sophia Kishkovsky. “For Tolstoy and Russia, Still No Happy Ending.” The New York Times. January 04, 2011. Accessed December 25, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/books/04tolstoy.html.
3^. Hart, David Bentley. “Tolstoy and Dostoevsky (and Christ)”. First Things. Accessed December 25, 2017. https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2009/09/tolstoy-and-dostoevsky-and-christ
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