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Scripture Analysis

1 Corinthians 1:21

This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.

Contradictions
1 entry

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WEB

For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe.

World English Bible

Read 1 Corinthians 1:21 in context

Examined in Scripture Analysis

Contradictions (1)

Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.

  • Is it good to be foolish?

    Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:21, 3:18, and 4:10 actively recommends becoming a fool — God saves through the foolishness of preaching, and Paul calls himself and his colleagues "fools for Christ." Psalm 5:5 says the foolish cannot stand before God, and Ephesians 5:15 (a disputed-Pauline letter) tells believers not to walk as fools but as wise.

    Critical scholarship: Leans toward reconciliation.

    More on this question

    The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

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Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built

Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.

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This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.

"1 Corinthians 1:21 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/1-corinthians/1/21?version=WEB (retrieved 26 August 2026).