The Christian faith is full of apparent paradoxes:
– a compassionate God who sanctions genocide
– an all-powerful God who allows horrific suffering
– a God who owns everything yet demands so much from his followers
– a God who is distant and yet present at the same time
Many of us have big questions that the Christian faith seems to leave unanswered. So we push them to the back of our minds, for fear of destabilizing our beliefs. But leaving these questions unexamined is neither healthy for us, nor honouring to God. Rather than shying away from the difficult questions, we need to face them head on.
What if the tension between apparently opposing doctrines is exactly where faith comes alive? What if this ancient faith has survived so long not in spite of but precisely because of these apparent contradictions? What if it is in the difficult parts of the Bible that God is most clearly revealed?
Paradoxology makes a bold new claim: that the paradoxes that seem like they ought to undermine belief are actually the heart of our vibrant faith, and that it is only by continually wrestling with them – rather than trying to pin them down or push them away – that we can really move forward, individually and together.
– a compassionate God who sanctions genocide
– an all-powerful God who allows horrific suffering
– a God who owns everything yet demands so much from his followers
– a God who is distant and yet present at the same time
Many of us have big questions that the Christian faith seems to leave unanswered. So we push them to the back of our minds, for fear of destabilizing our beliefs. But leaving these questions unexamined is neither healthy for us, nor honouring to God. Rather than shying away from the difficult questions, we need to face them head on.
What if the tension between apparently opposing doctrines is exactly where faith comes alive? What if this ancient faith has survived so long not in spite of but precisely because of these apparent contradictions? What if it is in the difficult parts of the Bible that God is most clearly revealed?
Paradoxology makes a bold new claim: that the paradoxes that seem like they ought to undermine belief are actually the heart of our vibrant faith, and that it is only by continually wrestling with them – rather than trying to pin them down or push them away – that we can really move forward, individually and together.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
These may seem like heavy theological ideas, yet the author approaches his theme in what is an easily read way through leading characters of the bible from Abraham to Paul. He challenges his readers to consider not only those passages that give us comfort, but also those "dark sayings" which so often perturb people.
Allow your mind to test your conclusions about the Bible. Like Thomas in the Easter Story, you might find that exploring doubts and questions will bring you to clearer vision.
Amazing...I really loved it. The book real is an eye-opener that makes you look at the Bible in a different way.