TEXTS IN TENSION
(Note: An additional point was added to this essay after it was posted to four church websites early on Monday, February 10. The complete article as received by subscribers to my “News & Views” and as will be posted to my Facebook page follows).
In reading the Scriptures it is important to know that different texts often emphasize different truths about the same subject. Rather than being contradictions, they are inspiration’s way of teaching important lessons that complement the whole of God’s instructions to mankind. I refer to these as texts in tension. While the texts may seem to set forth opposing ideas, none of the texts is exclusive of the other, but all of them set forth essential truth about the subject under discussion when studied in their context. A study of some of these texts in tension should prove beneficial. Continue reading