The Paradoxical Gospel

Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians stressing the “paradoxical” (two competing ‘glories’ alongside one another) nature of the gospel. The glory, power, and wisdom of God is found in the crucified Jesus. This is God’s wisdom. This is God’s Word. But it is foolishness to the world.Christ crucified is to be the starting point, the measuring rod, the cornerstone by which we discern the truth of reality, the truth of ourselves, the truth of one another, and the truth of God. Christ and him crucified will never make sense rationally to us unless it is the cornerstone (the starting point) of our “building.” If our cornerstone is anything other than him, he will inevitably be a stumbling block within whatever structure we are attempting to build.As the German theologian Jürgen Moltmann puts it: “In Christianity the cross is the test of everything which deserves to be called Christian.”As always, feel free to leave comments here to keep the discussion going. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cameroncombs.substack.com