June 2, 2016
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PARADOX--Non-Biblical, but not Un-Biblical
And tragically, we will often find ourselves at odds and talking past others who hold ideas and concepts that don’t seem to mesh well with varying concepts that we treasure just as passionately as they.I am also suggesting that the Scriptures are saturated in paradox. Once the essential nature of paradox is embraced as a very real reality, many of the so-called discrepancies or outright contradictions that have consistently been leveled against the Bible begin to evaporate.
A friend of mine has said; "paradox is a reality/truth which contains essential elements that appear to contradict each other." They seem to be mutually exclusive. A neat quote (in and of itself a paradox) from an online dictionary states; “‘I always lie’ is a paradox because if it is true, then it must be false." How often has a “bottom-line” truth been declared with such finality: "If it is ‘Y’, then it is impossible for it to be ‘X!’"? It must be “either”/ “or”--It cannot be “both”. But in God’s sphere of operations, reality often is!
Is Jesus divine?--or, is He human? From our perspective, it is an either/or proposition. But from God’s, the answer is; “Yes!--He is." It is a paradox, and it drives us crazy because we cannot logically reconcile both realities with each other in our attempts to wrap our minds around and embrace them together as veritable truth.
Another paradox of Scripture contains the two elements of God’s sovereignty (supreme power or authority--the absolute right to exercise power over others) and humanity’s free moral agency. How is it possible for both of these realities to coexist as bona-fide truth? Another paradox stirring a high level of controversy over many many years is the Scripture’s declaration that there is one God, with three beings or entities that share in that one divine nature. The finite human mind finds itself deeply troubled in the baffling nature of the three-in-one God as described in His Holy Scriptures. Humanly explainable or not, through the centuries, orthodoxy has consistently embraced both as divine truth.
Statements of paradox abound in Scripture. Consider a few in the following quotes:
= "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant" (Matthew 20:26).
= "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Luke 9:24).
= "But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first" (Matthew 19:30).
= "In me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33b).
= "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (II Corinthians 5:21).
= "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12).
= "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:12-13).
= "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).
Truth, by its very nature is paradoxical. It is like two sides of the same coin. They are parts of a single substance, but each side has its own unique markings; distinct from the other. As a result, even though they may not look like each other, they are an essential part of each other. Take away or destroy one or the other and the whole coin is destroyed.
The paradoxes cited above are genuine realities that strain and defy our ability to comprehend or adequately explain, but they are well supported by Scripture. It is therefore not unwise to be cautious about swallowing “hook, line and sinker” a reality that seems single faceted, one-sided or “cut and dried”. We may discover less obvious details which give a fuller and more complete picture of the whole as we step back and take a closer look at a particular truth.
Reality, for that is what truth is, is not always an issue of what is “black or white” or “right or wrong”. It is hardly ever a simple matter of assembling all of the involved pertinent facts and then coming to a hasty conclusion. Although some truth seems obvious, much of it is not. It may require many years of experience and learning--even intense soul-searching, to grasp and understand. Often there is a very fine line between truth and falsehood because they may look so deceptively alike.
Paradox is a part of reality--divine reality (reality as God has created it). Paradox is disturbing, even mystifying, but an essential part of life. Until we come to grips with the truth of paradox, we will feel a constant uneasiness and discord which tends to pull us in opposing directions. It is only as we learn to embrace and become more at ease with the tensions that paradox produce, that we begin to experience the sense of peace that brings the wholeness that we need.
Jesus said; "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free . . . . So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:32-36).
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