Dichotomy?

To my mind, one of the most striking things about the Christian faith is the consistent presence of apparent contradictions.  Strictly speaking, the term “dichotomy” is not accurate for these situations; however, for brevity’s sake, I will use that term for now.

The key deficiency in using that term when we discuss biblical examples of these conflicts is the implication that both sides of the apparent contradiction cannot co-exist.  If we assume the two sides of one of these dichotomies cannot be simultaneously true, we can take different approaches to resolving the problem:

a)  We conclude that one side is right and the other is wrong.  In this case, we choose our preferred side (often relying on extra-biblical sources to break the tie) and emphasize scripture that supports our choice.  Contrary passages are ignored or declared to be mis-interpreted, mis-applied or out of context.

b)  We admit that both sides are true, but not coincident.   Making the timing of the issue critical.

c)  We ignore the conflict and the uncomfortable controversies that accompany them, focusing instead on the easy points of doctrine with which “everybody” agrees.

There are numerous examples of these dichotomies; and perhaps most significantly, they appear not only at the periphery, but at the very heart of our core tenets.  Historically, attempts to deal with some of these controversies using approaches “a” and “b” have been declared heretical by the Church.  I would argue that today’s evangelical church in America is largely guilty of approach “c.”

One of the most important examples of an apparent contradiction in the Bible is the orthodox Christian belief that holds Christ as fully human, yet also fully divine.  The early church heresies of Arianism (Jesus was not fully divine) and Monophysitism (Jesus was not fully human) are examples of approach “a.”   Arianism was declared to be a heresy at the Council of Nicea in 325, and Monophysitism was similarly declared at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

Modalism, a third century heresy that denies the simultaneous existence of all three persons of the trinity is an example of approach “b.”  Modalism (also known as Sabellianism) accepts each of the persons, but claims God can move from one person to another.  The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit do not exist at the same time in this view.

Minor denominational distinctions as well as the emergence of radically misguided sects have resulted from man’s attempts to reconcile these biblical dichotomies, and the unity of the church has suffered.

I have started a table of some of the most notable biblical “dichotomies.”   Please comment on others that you think should be added to the list.

Topic	Dichotomy
Christ’s Nature	Fully human, yet fully divine
The Scriptures	Entirely inspired, yet entirely written by the hand of man
The Trinity	Three separate persons coexistent in one Godhead
Law/Grace	Christians have been freed from the law, but told to obey His commandments
God’s Decrees	God is absolutely sovereign, yet man is responsible for his actions

Recognizing that there were no satisfying words to describe this difficult concept of contradictions, early theologians and church leaders devised a new term — Hypostatic Union — to describe the coexistent human and divine natures of Christ.  

I encourage you to apply the concept of hypostasis as you study the Bible and wrestle with issues such as those listed above.  The Bible teaches that each of the items listed co-exist simultaneously in spite of our inability to understand how.  On the basis of sola scriptura, both must be true; we must be honest to the text and work to reconcile the differences.  At some point, we may have to concede that there is a mystery — His ways are above ours and we cannot fully know the mind of God.  Do not make errors as did the heretics in the early history of the Church, nor the common error of refusing to deal with it as many do today.

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