CHRISTIAN PARADOXES

One accepted definition of a paradox is “a situation, person or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities. A master of paradox was W.S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan fame. Many of the plots of his operettas center around a paradoxical situation. Consider the following:

    The Pirates of Penzance: A young lad is apprenticed to a pirate (don't ask how that happened) until his 21^st birthday. But when he turns 21, he is informed that in reality he is still only five years old since he was born on leap-day.

    The Gondoliers: The enlightened ruler of a province in Italy decides to give exalted titles to all in the kingdom with the result that “when everyone is someone, then no one's anybody.”

    Ruddigore: A meek man has fallen under a hereditary curse by which he is condemned to commit one crime every day or he will die. After a while he can take the situation no longer and announces that he refuses to commit any more crimes (minor misdemeanors up to that time). But that action is equivalent to committing suicide, which in itself is a crime. So through a paradox, he escapes from the curse.

    The Mikado: To get around the Mikado's decree that flirting is punishable by death, the town authorities appoint as High Executor the next man scheduled to be beheaded. That effectively stops all executions since the executioner obviously can't cut off his own head.

Another definition of a paradox is “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.” Interestingly, some of the most noted examples of both these types of paradox are found in the writings of two other British authors, both Christians involved deeply in apologetics: C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton.

C.S. Lewis

“There is a paradox about tribulation in Christianity. 'Blessed are the poor,' but by judgement (i.e., social justice) and alms we are to remove poverty wherever possible. Blessed are we when persecuted, but we may avoid persecution by flying city to city, and may pray to be spared it.”

“The crucifixion is the best, as well as the worst, of all historical events.” This is an obvious variation on Dickens' famous “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

“There is a paradox. As long as Dick does not turn to God, he thinks his niceness is his own, and just as long as he thinks that, it is not his own. It is when Dick realizes that his niceness is not his own but a gift from God, and when he offers it back to God – it is just then that it begins to be really his own… The only things we can keep are the things we freely give to God. What we try to keep for ourselves is just what we are sure to lose.”

“Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you get neither.”

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” An often-used modern parallel to this saying is the description of a person who is so heavenly minded that he is of no earthly good.

“We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”

G.K. Chesterton

He has been called The Prince of Paradox. He himself defined paradox as “truth standing on its head to gain attention.” His love of the art of paradox is seen right away in the titles of two of his books: The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond and Four Faultless Felons. However, it is perhaps demonstrated most clearly in his non-fiction Christian writings such as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.

“The primary paradox of Christianity is that the ordinary condition of man is not his sane or sensible condition; that the normal itself is an abnormality. That is the inmost philosophy of the Fall...That whatever I am, I am not myself.”

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. 'He that will lose his life, the same shall save it' is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of practical everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers.”

“Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians...Its exactitude is obvious, but its inexactitude is hidden.”

“The criminal we must forgive seventy times seven. The crime we must not forgive at all.”

“One can hardly think too little of one’s self. One can hardly think too much of one’s soul.”

“ The point is not that this world is too sad to love or too glad not to love; the point is that when you do love a thing, its gladness is a reason for loving it, and its sadness a reason for loving it more.”

“There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great.”

“Though we are all liars, we all love the truth.”

“All the exaggerations are right, if they exaggerate the right thing.”

“The reformer is always right about what is wrong. He is generally wrong about what is right.”

“If there were no God, there would be no atheists.”

Why are these great Christian apologists also among the greatest propounders of paradoxes? It is due to the fount of all their wisdom – the Bible, more specifically the New Testament and, most of all, Jesus Himself.

Sara Park McLaughlin: “A Savior who could not save himself. A King who had no visible kingdom. An immortal God who died so mortals might have immortal life. A speechless infant who was the Incarnate Word – only a few of the paradoxes with which Christianity is riddled. But why? Why is Christianity paradoxical? Specifically, why did G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis turn to paradoxes so often?” She concludes that “paradoxes pointed to themselves when all other routes were exhausted. Rather than acting as a roadblock, however, they functioned as landmarks, signposts, confirmations that I was nearing my destination. Like Lewis' joy, the paradox points beyond itself, lures its followers closer to the truth, closer to God.”

Joseph Pearce notes that many modern parables such as found in Chesterton's Father Brown stories, The Man Who Was Thursday, and Manalive “have their archetype in the parable of the Prodigal Son in which the younger son ceases to be childish and becomes child-like, returning in humility to his father, whereas the older son, outwardly more virtuous, remains childish in his refusal to share in his father’s joy at the prodigal’s return. The moral is thus encapsulated in that other great paradox: 'The first shall be last and the last shall be first.'”

“If Chesterton is the 'Prince of Paradox,' then Christ is its King. As He has told us, 'we are in, but not of this world'; 'he who loves his life, shall lose it'; 'he who humbles himself shall be exalted'; 'my yoke is easy;' and 'blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.' Christ’s words invite us into a deeper meaning of life through the portal that is the paradox. Ayn Rand’s philosophy – 'Existence is Existence; A is A' – is devoid of paradox and hence devoid of depth.” (Donald Demarco)

Just consider some of the paradoxical statements and situations in the Bible in addition to those just mentioned above:

Joseph becomes second in command of perhaps the most powerful civilization of his time only when he leaves his favored position in his father's house, is sold as a slave, and thrown into jail for years. Joseph is an obvious type of Jesus' “stooping to conquer” as described in Philippians 2:6-11. Isaiah describes a coming Suffering Servant who would heal the people with his stripes (Isaiah 53:5), a clear prediction of the coming Messiah.

Then in the New Testament we have:

Jesus' advice to the full-grown Nicodemus: “You must be born again.” (John 3:3-4)

“The Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

“The first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30, etc.)

“Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) By the way, this principle is illustrated in the famous Father Brown mystery stories by G.K. Chesterton in which the innocent priest is always the wisest person around.

“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” (I Peter 5:6)

“When we are weak, we are strong.” (II Corinthians 12:10; 13:9)

“Whoever wants to be greatest, should be everyone’s servant.” (Matthew 23:11)

“Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” (James 1:2)

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it will bear much fruit.” (John 12:24)

“We are afflicted...always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our bodies.” (II Corinthians 4:8-10)

In Matthew 11:18-19, Jesus notes his opponents' paradoxical way of reasoning: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'”

“There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or brother or father or children or lands for my sake and the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and lands, with persecutions – and eternal life in the time to come.” (Mark 10:29-30) There are actually two paradoxes here: (1) the only way to get more is to give up what you have and (2) your blessings here on earth always come with persecution as well. Note that the one thing not promised by Jesus for those who leave everything for his sake are more fathers, since what you gain is the one Father.

But the greatest paradox of all, of course, is the crucifixion itself during which man killed God who had become man so that man could live and be with God. That paradox appears again as the main theme of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and even in Obi-Wan Kenobi's sacrificial death at the hands of Darth Vader.

Aaron Wilson has also compiled a number of paired Scripture passages which he feels should not be viewed as contradictions but as paradoxes instead. Here are a few of them:

“We are worthless servants.” (Luke 17:10) vs. “We are his workmanship.” (Ephesians 2:10)

“Blessed are those who hunger.” (Matthew 5:6) vs. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry.” (John 6:35)

“Take up my yoke and learn from me.” (Matthew 11:29) vs. “Don’t submit again to a yoke.” (Galatians 5:1)

“Everything is futile.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) vs. the idea that everything is meaningful—“Whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

I am afraid that I would argue these are not real paradoxes at all since none of these individual sayings was purposely constructed as a paradox. Instead, the pairs do not appear together originally and most involve different authors and entirely different contexts. But they are certainly useful for sparking conversations between believers or between believers and non-believers alike. Thus, I will attempt to resolve these contradictions in other posts.

Titus 1:12-13

In closing, there is one really difficult paradox to understand found in Titus 1:12-13a: “It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said, 'Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons.' That testimony is true.” Of course, the paradox is that if a Cretan stated that Cretans are always liars, how can his testimony be trusted? But I will also deal with that in another post.