The tension: Job 15:14, Isaiah 64:6, and Romans 3:10 deny anyone is righteous — all our righteousness is as filthy rags, there is none righteous, no, not one.
The tension: The Hebrew Bible and New Testament preserve six different lists of the "twelve tribes" of Israel — Gen 49, Num 1, Num 13, Deut 33, Ezek 48, Rev 7 — and no two…
The tension: The Decalogue and a long chorus of prophetic, wisdom, and epistolary texts prohibit lying absolutely — false witness, false reports, deception are abominations.
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: Deuteronomy 4:40, Psalm 37:29, Psalm 78:69, Psalm 104:5, and Ecclesiastes 1:4 all assert that the earth abides forever — Psalm 104:5 specifically says it 'shou…
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: 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: Isaiah 48:12 — and 41:4, 44:6 — has YHWH declaring 'I am the first and the last.' Revelation 1:17 and 22:13 have Jesus saying the same thing.
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: 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: Matthew 5:9 blesses peacemakers; Luke 2:14 has the angels announce 'on earth peace'; John 14:27 and 16:33 have Jesus give peace to his disciples; Acts 10:36 sa…
The tension: Matthew 6:10 has Jesus teach disciples to pray *genēthētō to thelēma sou, hōs en ouranō kai epi gēs* — 'your will be done, as in heaven so on earth' — taking t…
The tension: The Synoptic apocalyptic discourses and Revelation 1:7 stack up to say the return of the Son of Man will be a universally visible event: every tribe of the ear…
The tension: John 5:22, John 5:26-27, John 9:39, Acts 17:31, 2 Corinthians 5:10, and Revelation 19:11 say Jesus judges everyone, with the Father committing all judgment to…
The tension: Proverbs 11:31 declares that the righteous are recompensed in the earth — "much more the wicked and the sinner." The traditional Deuteronomic-Wisdom theology u…
The tension: Job 3, Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, and Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 articulate a thoroughgoing annihilationist anthropology — the dead know nothing, all go to dust, man has…
