Counter-intuitive: contrary to common sense —even foolish!

Where are many popular counter-intuitive statements, regarded as great wisdom and truth?

Biblical authors (especially Jesus and Paul) frequently utilize a special form of instruction called paradox to communicate God’s “counter-intuitive wisdom.”

“So the last will be first, and the first last.”

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

“Give, and you will receive. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your pocket. The standards you use for others will be applied to you."

G. K. Chesterton defined biblical paradox as “truth standing on her head to attract attention.” Paradoxical statements arrest our attention because of their apparent contradiction—and motivate us to resolve the contradiction by learning and reflection.

NOTE: Biblical paradox is very different from Zen Buddhist koan paradoxes. These statements seek to deliver us from rationality as a precondition to spiritual enlightenment. Biblical paradox presumes rationality (including the law of non-contradiction) and affirms it as integral to spirituality.

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1976): A koan is “a paradox to be meditated upon that is used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force them into gaining a sudden intuitive enlightenment.”