The tension: Deuteronomy 6:16 issues a blanket prohibition — 'Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God' — quoted approvingly by Jesus at Matthew 4:7 and Luke 4:12.
The tension: Proverbs 2:3-5, Proverbs 8:17, and Matthew 7:8 / Luke 11:9-10 promise that anyone who seeks God will find him — ask and receive, knock and the door opens.
The tension: Psalm 37:25, Psalm 112:1-3, Proverbs 13:22, and Proverbs 15:6 all treat wealth as a marker of divine favor — the righteous never beg, their houses fill with tr…
The tension: Paul stacks Romans 3:28, Romans 4:13, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:11-12, and Ephesians 2:8-9 to insist humans are justified by faith apart from works of the la…
The tension: The Bible names at least six different sins as the reason Sodom was destroyed: same-sex intercourse (Leviticus 18:22 read into Ezekiel 16:50), inhospitality (M…
The tension: The New Testament gives Jesus a long string of names and titles — Jesus, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, the Word, Son of Man, Son of the Highest, Son of David, Son of…
The tension: Luke 21:11 has Jesus predict that 'fearful sights and great signs from heaven' will accompany the eschaton, treating such signs as legitimate revelatory marker…
The tension: Matthew 21:5-7 has Jesus ride into Jerusalem on two animals — a donkey and a colt — with the disciples laying garments on both and Jesus sitting on 'them.' Mar…
The tension: Acts 2:30, Acts 13:23, Romans 1:3, 2 Timothy 2:8, Hebrews 2:16, and Revelation 22:16 all describe Jesus as physically descended from David 'according to the fl…
The tension: Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22 have the heavenly voice address Jesus directly in the second person: 'You are my beloved Son' (*sy ei ho huios mou ho agapētos*).
