DYF: Contradiction, Paradox, and Mystery - My Thoughts

This chapter turned out to be much easier to grasp than the last one, probably because rather than trying to argue a point, the author was merely defining a few terms: contradiction, paradox, and mystery. It's a pretty simple distinction to make, honestly, and an important one.

According to Sproul, the first two words, contradiction and paradox, are commonly used interchangeably. This, he says, is a mistake, as they mean two different things. While our contemporary definition shows them as synonyms, Sproul argues that this is only resulted from general misuse of the terms. He gives the correct, historical definitions for this chapter.

Contradiction

A contradiction is a logical error, something that simply does not make sense and cannot be understood to be meaningful because of its absurdity. This is like saying that the iPad I'm typing both is and isn't an iPad. It's either one or the other; it can't be both. We can't understand how it can possibly be both an iPad and not an iPad at the same time because that's a contradiction. It can't be resolved at all.

Paradox

A paradox is something that, while seeming to be a contradiction at first glance, really isn't a contradiction at all. The best paradox I can think of is one that Sproul uses himself in this chapter: the doctrine of the Trinity.

The doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is one God yet three persons. He is both one and three. That sounds like a contradiction, right? Well, on closer inspection we discover it's not. God is one in essence but three in person. He is one in one way and three in a completely different way. This is not a contradiction at all, only a paradox.

Mystery

Finally, there is mystery. A mystery is simply something that is logical, but is not known at the time. It may be that it can't be known or fully understood; God is an infinite being, and we as finite beings can never fully understand Him. However, it may be that a mystery can be known with further investigation and study. Either way, it's something that makes logical sense. That differentiates it from a contradiction, which cannot be known or understood because it makes no logical sense.

So, contradiction, paradox, and mystery. All of them are important things for us to understand if we wish to logically discuss the Gospel, or anything in general. At least Sproul says so. I'm not far into the book, so we haven't got to the part about defending the Gospel yet. I look forward to that.