The tension: The Hebrew Bible repeatedly narrates theophanies in which God is seen face-to-face — by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, seventy elders, Manoah, Micaiah, Job, Isa…
The tension: Dozens of texts describe YHWH as merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loyalty — Exodus 34:6, Deut 4:31, the Psalms, the prophets, the New Testament l…
The tension: Jesus in Luke 14:26 says no one can be his disciple unless they hate father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even their own life.
The tension: The Torah, prophets, and Wisdom literature relentlessly command fear of YHWH — Deuteronomy 6:13, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Proverbs 9:10, Matthew 10:28, and Hebrews…
The tension: The Hebrew Bible's wisdom literature and older narrative strata treat death as terminal — the dead go to Sheol, lose consciousness, and do not return.
The tension: 1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36, Proverbs 20:9, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23, and 1 John 1:8-10 all declare that no human is without sin.
The tension: Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 3:38, Amos 3:6, and a stack of prophetic passages including Jeremiah 4:6, 18:11 and 2 Kings 6:33 explicitly attribute the creation or…
The tension: Paul's hymn to love in 1 Corinthians 13:7 says love 'believes all things,' but Proverbs 14:15, Proverbs 26:25, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, and 1 John 4:1 issue blank…
The tension: The Synoptic Jesus identifies one sin that will never be forgiven "neither in this world, neither in the world to come" — blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Ma…
The tension: First John lays down the test plainly: anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, is born of God and indwelt by God (1 John 4:2, 4:15, 5:1).
