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To: Faith Presses On
There is a paradox between what James 2 and Ephesians 2 say about faith and works, though, and both must be absolutely true.

Only an apparent paradox. See Post 516.

586 posted on 06/07/2017 4:45:42 AM PDT by kosciusko51
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To: kosciusko51

I agree with your post 516. On the question of whether or not there’s a paradox between James 2 and Ephesians 2, though, I hate to say anything that reminds us of Bill Clinton’s bad conduct here, but that just may depend on what definition of “paradox” one uses. I always heard in school that a paradox was something that seemed to be contradictory, but wasn’t, and that was what made it distinct from a contradiction. If there isn’t a word that means that, there should be, because many things can seem to be contradictory, but actually aren’t. I agree that’s the case between James 2 and Ephesians 2. And maybe the apparent contradiction between the two could be called a paradox because a paradox is actually more than one thing, according to Merriam-Webster, and those things aren’t really consistent, which is pretty odd:

Definition of paradox

1: a tenet contrary to received opinion

2a : a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true
b : a self-contradictory statement that at first seems true
c : an argument that apparently derives self-contradictory conclusions by valid deduction from acceptable premises

3: one (such as a person, situation, or action) having seemingly contradictory qualities or phases

It sounds to me like 2a and 3 might describe the situation between Ephesians 2 and James 2.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paradox


634 posted on 06/07/2017 9:43:38 AM PDT by Faith Presses On (Above all, politics should serve the Great Commission, "preparing the way for the Lord.")
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