About

PAR΄A DOX, n. [F> 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.

I am a paradox.

You are too; you just might not know it.

Here is one of ways that you and I are paradoxical. We are made of flesh-and-blood. Yet there is so much more to being human than to be made of flesh-and-blood, for besides a physical body, we have also souls. Yet I cannot look at you and tell you which of your actions are soulish and which are merely physical. It is a paradox—the paradox of life, the fusion of body and soul. Is eating a merely physical activity, or can it also be spiritual? Am I a creature, or am I a spirit? Am I dust, or am I an eternal being? This is one of the mysteries of the ages, the riddle of ancients and moderns alike. The truth is, we are a paradox—both flesh-and-blood and brightsome spirit. “The LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (Genesis 2:7).”

It seems to me like God really likes paradoxes—all of the grand mysteries of creation and redemption are wrapped in them. It thrills me to trace these paradoxes, as I find them in nature and in the Holy Scriptures. Join me, as I revel (and ramble) in God’s awesome greatness and mercy!

A little about myself:

My name is Stephen. I am greatly privileged to be the son of a godly father and mother. I am the fourth born of their eleven children. I was home-educated from preschool through 12th grade. I have completed a B.A. in English through Thomas Edison State College. I am deeply interested in languages and linguistics. Right now I am studying New Testament Greek and Modern Arabic. I enjoy the outdoors—gardens, woods, open fields and city streets. I am a member of a Reformed Baptist Church. My quest in life is to sit at the feet of the resurrected Jesus Christ, to submissively learn from him, to mystically abide in him, and to humbly help others do the same. I desire to walk by faith…from this world into eternity. I am trusting in Jesus, the Anointed One. “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name (Psalm 86:11).”

[My brother used to blog here with me. He recently got married and he and his bride have their own blog now. In the transition my brother took all of his blog entries off this blog and has moved them to his own blog. Please email me if you would like the link to my brother and his wife's blog.]

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

(These are the words of the Apostle Paul, as recorded in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles of Jesus Christ, chapt. 17:24-31. The Apostle Paul spoke these words to a group of people and philosophers who had brought him to the Areopagus in ancient Athens. This message is almost 2000 years old, yet it describes the same doctrine that is embraced and proclaimed by those who truly follow Christ even to this day.)