2_8 Contradiction in the Bible: If God doesn’t tempt us, why do we pray ‘lead us not into temptation’? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 6, 2025 · 23 MIN

2_8 Contradiction in the Bible: If God doesn’t tempt us, why do we pray ‘lead us not into temptation’?

from Theology and Identity · host David A. Clark PhD, University of Roehampton, London

Does God tempt people or doesn’t he?James 1:13 says, ‘Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.’ But then we have this very tricky petition in the Lord’s Prayer where Jesus taught his followers to pray: 'lead us not into temptation'. Why would Christians pray ‘don’t bring into temptation' if this is something that God categorically doesn’t do? Over the past 2000 years, no phrase in the Bible has been subject to more debate, more re-translation, and more re-interpretation than ‘lead us not into temptation’. In this episode, we begin with a brief look at this history of the debate. Then, we offer a new angle. What changes in our understanding of this prayer if, instead of 'temptation', we think about the idea of 'testing'?

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 6, 2025

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2_8 Contradiction in the Bible: If God doesn’t tempt us, why do we pray ‘lead us not into temptation’?

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