“Lord, I have two mites, a soul and a body, and I give them both to thee.”
-Bernard of Clairvaux
What is a Paradox?
PAR΄ADOX, n. [Fr.> paradoxe; It. Paradosso; Gr. παραδοξια; παρα, beyond, and δοξα, opinion; δοξεω to think or suppose.] A tenet or proposition contrary to received opinion, or seemingly absurd, yet true in fact.1 Corinthians 1:18-25
"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." -The Holy Bible (ESV)Categories
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G.K. Chesterton
“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die. ‘ He that will lose his life, the same shall save it’ is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or drill book. This paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage” -OrthodoxyG.K. Chesterton
“[O]rthodox theology has specially insisted that Christ [is] not a being apart from God and man, like an elf, nor yet a being half human and half not, like a centaur, but both things at once and both things thoroughly, very man and very God.” -OrthodoxyG.K. Chesterton
“In so far as I am Man I am the chief of creatures. In so far as I am a man I am the chief of sinners.” -OrthodoxyG.K. Chesterton
"[T]he whole theory of the Church on virginity might be symbolized in the statement that white is a colour: not merely the absence of a colour.” -OrthodoxyG.K. Chesterton
“One can hardly think too little of one’s self. One can hardly think too much of one’s soul.” -OrthodoxyTHE SEED OF THE GIANT SEQUOIA
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- "Sequoia gigantea, or Big Tree, grows only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California at elevations varying from 5,000 to 8,500 feet above sea level. Individuals of this species are the largest living things on the face of the globe. Ranging from 250 to 330 feet high their diameters at the base vary approximately from 20 to 35 feet. The Sequoia gigantean seems to go on living indefinitely and may stand as long as one hundred generations. The cells of its cambrium layer and of the growing tips appear never to lose the ability to grow and reproduce. The tannin content of bark and wood discourages insects and fungi and retards fire. Even when fallen, the heartwood may stay sound for hundreds of years. Giant Sequoias seldom produce cones until they are at least on hundred years of age. Each cone, from one to three inches long, contains 100 to 300 seeds, but these are so small that it takes 3,000 to weight one once. Without the industrious pine squirrel very few sequoia cones would be dropped by the sequoias. Scampering in the treetops the squirrels cut off cones which sometimes fall as fast as seven or eight per minute. Later the squirrels hide the cones in holes and logs, and other likely niches— provision for the winter ahead. Cones stored in damp places usually remain closed, but those that can dry soon open and shed their seeds. The age of living sequoias is difficult to determine but the annual ring count of cut trees has indicated that many are from 3,000 to 4,000 years old. Some of these trees in California were already majestic giants when the star of Bethlehem rose in the heavens. Here they remained while the Chain of Christianity moved westward with “signs following”— the liberty of the individual, and of nations. Just yesterday, in a sequoia’s life, came the flowering of these Bethlehem principles in government— “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuits of Happiness— That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men….” -American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828 (cover page)
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Place of Paradox · Not all is just as it seems.
Ah, so you are going to one-up me…
:-)
I do like the quote, by the way. Are you reading a book by that guy, or did you find it elsewhere?
Jason,
Of course we’ll one-up you… no, I figured we had plenty of quotes and that this would guarantee a weekly post.
No, I am not reading a book by Bernard; I found this quote in Watson’s The Godly Man’s Picture, which I’ve been reading for some months now, a few pages a day. It’s a great book, if you didn’t pick it up at the Quest, I whole-heartedly recommend you do so sometime.
Yes, I did buy pick it up. “Sometime” is a good to use. I’m reading as much as I can, yet have 15-20 books on my reading list (that’s without actively looking for suggestions). If only the osmosis approach worked… book by the pillow, eight hours a night…
I have a huge, non-school reading list picked out as well. I am already doing a ton of reading with college, but I’ll persevere all the same; we’ll see how many of these books I actually finish this year.