The Bible is Red! No, it's Blue!

What I've come to understand in the past few years is that very few things in the New Testament which are issues for us are "clear", including the necessity or not of baptism.

Imagine a prism standing in the light, viewed by two different people who know nothing of prisms. The person standing to one side would insist that "it's clear that the prism is blue!", while the person standing on the other side would insist that "it's clear that the prism is red!". Thus it is with the Bible.

It's not that the Bible "contradicts" itself; it's that it lends itself easily to opposing things depending on one's perspective. We, in our fallible human mindsets, can't abide the notion that the Bible could be true in saying both A=B and A!=B, but I think the Bible is a bit more deeper than we are, and the prism analogy applies.

- We are saved by obedience; and we are saved by faith prior to obedience. Both are true.
- Jesus is the Father YHWH; Jesus is not the Father YHWH. Both are true.
- The physical cosmos will be renewed; the physical cosmos will be consumed in fire. Both are true.
- Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus all took their flesh into heaven. Both are true.

Until we come to this understanding, we'll always be picking one side of any particular issue and declaring as heretics the proponents of the other side.

Originally published at:
http://kentwest.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-bible-is-red-no-its-blue.html