The Cretan Paradox
Words of Faith 8-30-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Titus 1
[12] Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." [13] This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith [14] and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.

Paul pointedly identified one of the rebellious talkers as an example that required sharp rebuke. There were some among the traveling disruptors that were espousing ugly prejudice against the Cretans. One whom they called a "prophet" had stated: "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." Can you imagine?
This news was probably no surprise to the readers of this letter. They may not have heard this terrible statement but they probably knew exactly who said it. This traveling "prophet" verbalized a harshly bigoted generalization about the people of Crete that was actually held by many in the ancient world.
[NOTE: Just to be clear, the statement was not about "Cretins" which refers to people exhibiting hyperthyroidism in the eighteenth century. Both terms are derogatory but are not related in any way.]
The particular prejudice that Paul addressed probably goes back to a statement made by a 6th-century BC Cretan poet named Epimenides who said, "All Cretans are liars." The obvious irony of this was that Epimenides was himself a Cretan! The statement gave rise to what is called the "Cretan Paradox" in philosophy and mathematics-- What do you do with the man states that everything that he says is a lie?
But Paul was not arguing philosophy here. The slander of the Cretan people by this specific traveling "prophet" stated that "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons." For Paul, this was an assault on his mission field.
Imagine for a moment a traveling preacher visiting a specific mission field, say Mexico, and declaring a similar prejudice, something like-- "All Mexicans are..." We would be outraged. More than a terrible setback, such behavior would obviously build a permanent barrier to the mission. This was what Paul and Titus were facing.
We have all known such slanderous words of prejudice that begin with a phrase like "All Europeans, Middle Easterners, Africans, Chinese" and this list goes on. The truth is that we live in a world of prejudice, caricatures, and ugly epithets. People more than generalize with their thoughts and words-- "ALL 'such and such people' are ----------."
Paul then declared: "This testimony is true." Now please don't misunderstand this phrase. MANY commentators have raced to the conclusion that Paul actually AGREED with the prejudice! There is no indication of this. Why would Paul call for sharp rebuke and then affirm the prejudice as true? The Greek word here means testimony, evidence, record, or report. The prejudicial statement does not fit that word in any way. The report about the behavior of this "prophet" is a true testimony.
This was not hearsay. This was not some rumor picked up on the mission trail. The fact that this traveling "prophet" had slandered the very people that Paul and Titus were trying to reach was attested to as fact. This means that either Paul had undeniable evidence and testimony or he had heard the slander himself. He certainly did not AGREE with such a prejudicial slander.
It is for this reason that Paul was so very strong in his direction to Titus. These rebellious ones should be "rebuked sharply so that they will be sound in the faith." Paul still hoped that they would come to sound faith but he could not allow such slander to go on. Such prejudice was utterly destructive to the cause of the Gospel in that region of Crete.
The same is true today. And the real "Cretan Paradox" is that the very people we are most tempted to hate and prejudge are usually the very ones that Jesus most wants us to reach! The fellowship of the Gospel has no room for prejudice or bigotry.
We all struggle with some prejudices in which we were raised, but we have a choice IN CHRIST to be different. In Christ, we are a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul declared that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Within the Gospel there is "no circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all" (Colossians 3:11). The barriers and prejudices that were common in the old religious ways of the Pharisees are dead.
For Paul, this was not a negotiable matter. He did not let this slide by saying "Different strokes for different folks." Those who demean people based on race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, or other God-given differences should be sharply rebuked. Such words reject the truth of the Gospel and prove to be a barrier to reaching those God has called us to reach.
Is there a prejudice that you need to surrender to Jesus and to the Gospel of Christ? Is there a slander that you have perpetuated against some group of people? Is there a slander that you need to confront in order to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)?

Dear Lord, deliver me from my prejudices seen and unseen. Plant in me the heart of Jesus for all people of every variation that You are trying to reach. Keep me from being a stumbling block of any kind to Your mission to reach and evangelize the world. Give me Your heart for the lost. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.