Contradictions

1 Thessalonians

questions

6

New Testament · questions that cite 1 Thessalonians.

Showing 1–6 of 6

• Scholarly consensus: Usually considered reconciled

  Is it always wrong to steal?

  The tension: The Decalogue and its echoes across the Torah, Gospels, and Epistles absolutize the prohibition on stealing, yet Genesis 31:19 reports without condemnation tha…

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• Scholarly consensus: Leans toward reconciliation

  Is it wrong to have sex outside of marriage?

  The tension: The Torah (Exod 20:14, Deut 5:18) and the New Testament (Acts 15:20, 1 Cor 5:1, 6:13, 6:18, 10:8, 2 Cor 12:21, Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:3, Col 3:5-6, 1 Thess 4:3, He…

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• Scholarly consensus: Leans toward reconciliation

  Should we think for ourselves?

  The tension: Proverbs 2:2, Ecclesiastes 7:25, and 1 Thessalonians 5:21 ("test all things") encourage active critical thinking.

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• Scholarly consensus: Genuinely disputed among scholars

  Should we believe everything?

  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…

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• Scholarly consensus: Leans toward reconciliation

  Who raised Jesus from the dead?

  The tension: John 2:19-21 has Jesus declaring he will raise his own body in three days.

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• Scholarly consensus: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction

  Is the day of the Lord at hand?

  The tension: 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 has Paul including himself among "we who are alive and remain" until the Lord's coming — assuming an imminent parousia within his own l…

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