Examine these two texts from 1 Corinthians side by side:
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." 1:3
"We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did-and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died....These things happened to them as examples for us, and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come." 10:8, 11.
Do you note the very troubling paradox in Paul's letter? God is somehow simultaneously our Father and the one who threatens to destroy us in fire if we do wrong.
I am actually amazed that few people have taken this doctrinal lacuna seriously. Let me put it in the form of a question: "What would be the quality of your relationship with your dad if he threatened to throw you into an incinerator if you grumble, commit a sexual sin, or test his patience? Moreover, lets say your dad pointed to an example in the past where he actually did torch people to death for disobeying him."
This awful paradox has been troubling me for two years. I can't make heads or tails of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment