{"id":552,"date":"2024-02-18T10:12:45","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T15:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/notthatkindofchristian\/?p=552"},"modified":"2024-02-18T10:12:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T15:12:45","slug":"faith-fallacies-god-wont-give-you-more-than-you-can-handle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/notthatkindofchristian\/2024\/02\/faith-fallacies-god-wont-give-you-more-than-you-can-handle\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith Fallacies: God Won\u2019t Give You More Than You Can Handle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"God
Created with AI 2\/17\/2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Time for another edition of Faith Fallacies, <\/em>where we take a look at ideas that people think are in the Bible or are part of Christianity but actually are not. Today\u2019s fallacy is this:<\/p>\n

God won\u2019t give you more than you can handle. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yup. That\u2019s right. Not Biblical. Not Christian.<\/p>\n

And if you really think about what it\u2019s saying, I don\u2019t think we would want it to be anyway.<\/p>\n

Why is that? How is this well-intentioned statement of support unbiblical? And why wouldn\u2019t we want it to be biblical in the first place?<\/p>\n

Is It\u00a0Really<\/em> Not In the Bible?<\/h2>\n

Despite its popularity with Christians, \u201cGod won\u2019t give you more than you can handle\u201d is nowhere to be found in the Bible. The closest we get is 1 Corinthians 10:13, which in the NRSV translation reads, \u201cNo testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But isn\u2019t that basically the same idea? If God isn\u2019t going to let you be tested beyond your strength, isn\u2019t it just saying in so many words that God won\u2019t give you more than you can handle?<\/p>\n

The problem here isn\u2019t that I\u2019m being overly pedantic and picky. The problem is context<\/em> and translation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Translation is Tricky<\/h2>\n

Reading the First Corinthians verse, it makes sense to think of \u201ctesting\u201d as we commonly do\u2014suffering trials and tribulations, experiencing trauma or grief or fear or anything along those lines. But the Greek word that is translated as \u201ctesting\u201d here is \u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u1f78\u03c2 (peirasmos). It appears twice in the verse, along with a different form of the word which is translated as \u201cwill be tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it turns out, the primary English translation for the Greek word \u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u1f78\u03c2 is \u201ctemptation.\u201d As an example, it\u2019s the word used when Jesus is tempted in the wilderness. While it is <\/em>sometimes translated as \u201ctesting,\u201d it all depends on the context.<\/p>\n

And if you read what comes before and what comes after First Corinthians 10:13, you see that almost the entire chapter deals with a variety of things that could potentially tempt the intended audience. Three examples:<\/p>\n