Religious Paradox

Q: I'm taking a class on philosophy and we're studying the concept of a paradox. Are there any paradoxes in religion that you could point me to? I mean are there any paradoxes that we have to contend with in the course of a Christian life?

A: Yes, I believe there are several. But the most profound paradox of all would be that of the god who is worshipped in each religion. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all three trace their roots to Abraham. Yet each of these three religions (and their various sects) worships a god who is defined very differently by each.

Within sects, like Christianity, for example, there are also strong paradoxes to be contended with. The mainline Protestant religions (i.e., Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian), Mormonism, Catholicism and Jehovah's Witnesses all worship a god who has Jesus in His definition. Yet each of them worships a different god, because they each see Jesus and God very differently.

The point here is that each of a multitude of religions espouses one true god. And several have dimensions of one true god in common with each other. But they are each worshipping a different definition of god. Someone has to be wrong about who God is. In fact, if there is only one true god, then only one of them could possibly have it right ... and all of the others would be wrong. Still, they each think they have defined God accurately. There is no chance that they are right.

Amidst this paradox is a certain level of ignorance. The Bible defines God as a Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So any religion, for example, that denies any part of this definition, is worshipping a different God. Many modern Americans don't realize this. So we will see Protestants, for instance, convert to Judaism when they marry a Jew. But the Jews deny that Jesus is who He says He is (i.e., the Messiah, God). So the Jews are worshipping a different God than the Christians ... because they've subtracted something from His definition. Similarly, the Mormons and Catholics worship a different god because they've added something to His definition.

You can see that this is a deep paradox. Frankly, I can think of none deeper than this one.