First, let me define \u201cparadox\u201d as not everyone agrees on its meaning.\u00a0 A paradox is an apparent contradiction.\u00a0 There are actually not that many blatant contradiction that anyone tries to believe.\u00a0 Few Christians claim actually to embrace sheer contradiction.\u00a0 But many Christian writers, including perhaps especially Calvinists, claim to embrace paradoxes.<\/p>\n
For example: God designs, foreordains, renders certain and governs every decision and action of creatures (in such a way that they are not able to do otherwise)\u00a0but they are still fully responsible (in a way God is not) for their decisions and actions.\u00a0 Many popular Calvinist writers and speakers call this a mystery and a paradox and claim to affirm it.<\/p>\n
I have always said that every theology includes some element of mystery.\u00a0 Mystery is simply that which cannot be fully understood or explained.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t contradiction.\u00a0 Contradiction is mystery on steroids!\u00a0 Paradox is apparent contradiction.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the difference between an apparent contradiction and a sheer, blatant contradiction?\u00a0 Well, the latter always takes the form of \u201cA is not A\u201d and means A in both cases to refer to the exact same thing.\u00a0 Few people go that far.\u00a0 But many (especially Christians, so it seems) claim to affirm less blatant examples.\u00a0 But I am thinking that even if its less blatant, insofar as it is believed to be a contradiction, it\u2019s impossible to believe.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think a person can (let alone should) believe two contradictory ideas at the same time.\u00a0 A person can believe one after the other, but a person can\u2019t believe them simultaneously because they cancel each other out.<\/p>\n
My point is that contradiction is always a sign of error\u2013not just because philosophy says so but because it\u2019s impossible to believe a contradiction.\u00a0 So if a person tells me he believes a contradiction I don\u2019t believe him.<\/p>\n
So what about paradox?\u00a0 I would say it is always a sign of something wrong in thinking.\u00a0 It\u2019s always a sign of error and we should never be comfortable with it.\u00a0 It is always a challenge for further thought.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, many theologians (to say nothing of pastors and lay people) revel in paradoxes and seem even proud of theirs as if the more and harsher the paradoxes the more mysterious and therefore glorious God is.\u00a0 The problem is that this amounts to a kind of anti-intellectual obscurantism insofar as these people do not admit their paradoxes are problems and need to be worked on.<\/p>\n
Let me go a little further down this road.\u00a0 (Or maybe I\u2019m turning onto a different road?)\u00a0 I find it difficult, if not impossible, to believe something for which there is no analogy in the world.\u00a0 A\u00a0proposition that has no analogy in anyone\u2019s experience would seem to be empty\u2013a set of words without a concept.<\/p>\n
The only reason we can believe Trinity is because, as Augustine showed, there are created analogies of this transcendent reality.\u00a0 We can and should say that the transcendent reality is greater and even different than its created analogies.\u00a0 But if we posit something as true that has no analogies whatsoever we may be positing words without any concept.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons I cannot be a Calvinist is because classical, high Calvinism asks me to believe something for which there is no created analogy\u2013that God is unconditionally good AND ALSO foreordains some of his creatures, created in his own image and likeness, to eternal torment in hell when he could save them from that because salvation is always only absolutely unconditional.\u00a0 (I acknowledge that some Calvinists claim salvation isn\u2019t unconditional but election to salvation is.\u00a0 I consider that a distinction without a difference.)<\/p>\n
I can find no analogy to that in the world.\u00a0 I\u2019m pointed that out here before.\u00a0 What I want to invite discussion about is whether it is possible to believe things that 1) seem contradictory, and 2) have no analogies in the world.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
First, let me define \u201cparadox\u201d as not everyone agrees on its meaning.\u00a0 A paradox is an apparent contradiction.\u00a0 There are actually not that many blatant contradiction that anyone tries to believe.\u00a0 Few Christians claim actually to embrace sheer contradiction.\u00a0 But many Christian writers, including perhaps especially Calvinists, claim to embrace paradoxes. For example: God designs, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n