According to people who are supposed to know, a paradox is, "A seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true."
Paradox | Meaning of Paradox by Lexico
For a while now, it has struck me how religion is the ritualization of paradox. Various paradoxes are central to the teachings of a variety of religions. In Zen Buddhism, for example, one meditative technique used by practitioners are koans, which are paradoxical statements, questions, stories, etc. used to open one's mind and awareness to a deeper understanding than may be immediately obvious. Throughout Eastern religions, there is a common thread that understands reality as "non-dual," which itself is a paradoxical insight that perceives the oneness or unity of all things despite their apparent differences and separateness.
Paradox exists in the Abrahamic traditions as well. Christianity, with which I'm most familiar, utilizes a number of paradoxes in its theology, including certain understandings of the Eucharist (bread and wine as divine flesh and blood), the Trinity (three divine "Persons" in one Being or substance), and the Incarnation (God as man) - though I grant not all Christians accept these interpretations. Jesus employs paradox multiple times in the Gospels, such as, "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." (Luke 17:33)
Existence itself is mysterious, paradoxical, not completely within our intellectual grasp, try as we might to discover as much as we can. And I think one of the primary functions of religion is to honor and highlight that mystery through ritual.
What are your thoughts? How is paradox expressed in your religious tradition, or other traditions you're aware of?
Paradox | Meaning of Paradox by Lexico
For a while now, it has struck me how religion is the ritualization of paradox. Various paradoxes are central to the teachings of a variety of religions. In Zen Buddhism, for example, one meditative technique used by practitioners are koans, which are paradoxical statements, questions, stories, etc. used to open one's mind and awareness to a deeper understanding than may be immediately obvious. Throughout Eastern religions, there is a common thread that understands reality as "non-dual," which itself is a paradoxical insight that perceives the oneness or unity of all things despite their apparent differences and separateness.
Paradox exists in the Abrahamic traditions as well. Christianity, with which I'm most familiar, utilizes a number of paradoxes in its theology, including certain understandings of the Eucharist (bread and wine as divine flesh and blood), the Trinity (three divine "Persons" in one Being or substance), and the Incarnation (God as man) - though I grant not all Christians accept these interpretations. Jesus employs paradox multiple times in the Gospels, such as, "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." (Luke 17:33)
Existence itself is mysterious, paradoxical, not completely within our intellectual grasp, try as we might to discover as much as we can. And I think one of the primary functions of religion is to honor and highlight that mystery through ritual.
What are your thoughts? How is paradox expressed in your religious tradition, or other traditions you're aware of?