Paradox?
I have this friend who used to wonder, “can God microwave a burrito that is so hot that he could not eat it?” i know it’s a silly musing, but it makes me think about other, bigger faith questions. in one of my seminary classes we learned that many aspects of the christian faith are paradoxes. i started thinking about the ones i could name:
-jesus is fully god and fully man
-the first will be last
-the beatitudes (matthew 5:3-12) which boil down to “lucky are the unlucky”
-god is both just and merciful
-the bible says sin’s power is destroyed, but i still struggle with it in this life
-being in the world, but not of the world
-he who wants to gain life must lose it
-god’s strength is made perfect in weakness
-god knows all, sees all, and is ultimately sovereign, yet we still have free will
-the nature of the trinity: god in three persons, yet is one god.
and the list goes on. i’m just wondering if anyone else has noticed how many areas of faith are paradoxes? is there anything else that i didn’t name? what are some of the paradoxes you have (or continue to) wrestled with?
The role of paradox in evangelism
People who have had negative experiences of Christianity as rational imperialism (where my ideas conquer yours by the strength of the argument) can be surprised and intrigued when presented with paradox instead. Check out this conversation I had five years ago:
Me: I prefer Jesus’ approach: “Not my will, but Thine be done.” It goes along with the whole thing of emptying yourself, “Take up your cross; to follow me you have to die.”
My friend: Whaat? That sounds like a Tool song or something. Where did you get that?
http://jonreid.blogs.com/