One of the most common problems we run into when trying to understand the Christian faith is the apparently contradictory nature of God presented to us in the Bible. When studying the Scriptures it is hard to not become confused by conflicting ideas. God is one, yet we know Him as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He wants us to tell the truth and be faithful to our spouses, yet the Hebrews were assisted in taking the city of Jericho through a lie told by a prostitute named Rahab. Jesus taught us to "turn the other cheek" and later told His disciples to carry swords as they went out into the world. From our perspective these all seem like contradictions. If we knew the whole truth, we would see that they are merely paradoxes.
The real issue at hand is our perspective. When we finite humans attempt to understand something complex, we will quite often try to simplify it for the ease of comprehension. There is really nothing wrong with this defense mechanism; it's just how we function. We want to understand, so we shrink the incomprehensible to fit the framework of our understanding. If two ideas do not seem mutually possible, then one of them must be wrong; according to finite humans. When approached with the intellect alone God will always seem contradictory because our intellect is limited, yet God is unlimited, infinite, and incomprehensible. Just as an ant's limited perspective keeps it from truly understanding the full truth of a foot stomping in the middle of its home, our limited perspective keeps us from truly understanding God and how He works.
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