Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

Neogaia777 · Sep 25, 2017

Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

Antimetaboles are a great example of this "paradoxial nature"...

Antimetabole is a literary and rhetorical device in which a phrase or sentence is repeated, but in reverse order. Writers or speakers use antimetabole for effect-calling attention to the words, or demonstrating that reality is not always what it seems by using the reversal of words.

Antimetabole Definition
Antimetabole is derived from a Greek word which means “turning about”. It is a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order.

“You like it; it likes you” and “Fair is foul and foul is fair” etc. Chiasmus and antimetabole are usually expected to be overlapped in usage and it is also often used as a synonym for Epanados in modern day books. However, the writer would make them distinct through his use.

Famous Antimetabole Examples
Just see these examples of how it has been used since the time of Socrates to the present modern age.

“Eat to live, not live to eat.”- Socrates
“I go where I please, and I please where I go.” – Attributed to Duke Nukem
“In America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, Party always finds you!” – Yakov Smirnoff
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.
“He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions.” The Sphinx, Mystery Men (1999)
“The great object of [Hamlet’s] life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Shakespeare’s Hamlet
“We do what we like and we like what we do.” – Andrew W.K., “Party Hard”
“We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us.” Malcolm X, “Malcolm X”
“If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” –Billy Preston
“You stood up for America, now America must stand up for you.” Barack Obama – December 14, 2011.

What Is the Difference Between Chiasmus and Antimetabole?
Antimetabole and chiasmus are very closely related and some experts even use them interchangeably but both the terms still exist to refer to two distinct literary devices. According to scholars, when a sentence is repeated after reversing it so as to convey an idea or stress on a point, it is called chiasmus. Antimetabole is not very much different from chiasmus, only that in an antimetabole the words and grammatical structure is also reversed because just reversing the meaning is not enough. So in the light of the above mentioned facts, it can be deduced that all the antimetaboles are chiasmus, but not all instances of chiasmus are antimetaboles.

A chiasmus is a sentence repeated inversely and the only condition of a chiasmic sentence is that the two clauses in the phrase are opposite in meanings. For example, the popular saying by Havelock Ellis’s, “Charm is a woman’s strength, strength is a man’s charm,” The aforementioned sentence, although, is an example of chiasmus but is not an antimetabole because the two clauses have opposite meanings but the words and the grammatical makeup are dissimilar.

In an antimetabole the word order in a sentence is reversed to contrast the meanings. One very good example is Mae West’s catchphrase, “It’s not the men in my life; it’s the life in my men.” As you can see, in this sentence the words, rhythm and grammatical structure used in the second sentence are exactly similar to the first one but only the meaning is opposite. Many experts refer to antimetabole as a subtype of chiasmus.

Functions and Effectiveness of Antimetaboles
For antimetaboles to be effective, they do not only have to be grammatically correct but should also be logical. People after studying literature for a while start thinking that they can churn out antimetaboles with a snap of a finger. They fail to understand the fact that a sentence cannot be called an antimetaboles if it is not based on a logical theme. For instance, you may witness a ‘smart Alec’ come up with a sentence like this and expect it to qualify for an antimetabole, which clearly is not the case.

Antimetaboles are popular and effective solely because they appeal to reason and are easy to remember. If the first half is relatable, then the reader or listener automatically will make sense out of the second half. For example: “It is not about the years in your life, but about the life in your years.” A sentence like this can be called an antimetabole because it is appealing, correct (logic and grammar) and has a message to convey to the readers.

Truths are often expressed this way... Which, on the surface can seem to be contradictory... Maybe, when finding two scriptures that seem to contradict, if we could put that truth into an antimetabole, we could better understand it, maybe...?

Comments...?

God Bless!

nonaeroterraqueous · Sep 25, 2017

Paradox in the Bible, I personally find, is usually the intersection of two ideas. It's like saying that two people are walking in opposite directions: one initially thinks that they are going their separate ways until one discovers that they are both approaching the same point from different sides. One idea without the other would seem to travel endlessly in one direction. One idea, by itself, can be taken to an extreme. Two ideas intersecting arrive at a destination, which has no extreme.

The appearance of contradiction, then, can be more precise than one of those two ideas by itself (imagine the effectiveness of one hand clapping). However, in many cases the explanation for the apparent contradiction is not readily apparent, like in the case of a Trinity, or predestination, or the God of love sending people to Hell, and a variety of doctrinal issues that give rise to the deepest fissures within this forum. People often embrace one doctrine wholeheartedly, while rejecting the counter-doctrine, instead of looking for the key to the paradox, and in some cases the key cannot be found, at least by them. Both sides of the dispute quote their share of valid scripture, and the matter is never resolved. Each is in love with his own side of the coin. Sometimes it is even a battle between one who understands both sides of the paradox against someone who does not.

Shempster · Sep 25, 2017

Very interesting.
Always appreciate your insights.
The thing is that the world and the bible is so complicated with so many variables that defining absolute truth is not possible in most situations. Studying is virtuous but truth is so very elusive.

Bless Up!

Neogaia777 · Sep 25, 2017

This is connected to this...

One way to reach Muslims or other groups of other religious beliefs, that are well versed in them...

Thanks for your comments guys! (and gals)...

God Bless!

Thedictator · Sep 25, 2017

Truth does not have it's origin in man, it origin comes out of God. What ever man conceives, believes, conjures up, or theorizes outside of God is not reality but only self delusion.

Everybodyknows · Sep 25, 2017

Neogaia777 said:
Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

Antimetaboles are a great example of this "paradoxial nature"...

Antimetabole is a literary and rhetorical device in which a phrase or sentence is repeated, but in reverse order. Writers or speakers use antimetabole for effect-calling attention to the words, or demonstrating that reality is not always what it seems by using the reversal of words.

Antimetabole Definition
Antimetabole is derived from a Greek word which means “turning about”. It is a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order.

“You like it; it likes you” and “Fair is foul and foul is fair” etc. Chiasmus and antimetabole are usually expected to be overlapped in usage and it is also often used as a synonym for Epanados in modern day books. However, the writer would make them distinct through his use.

Famous Antimetabole Examples
Just see these examples of how it has been used since the time of Socrates to the present modern age.

“Eat to live, not live to eat.”- Socrates

“I go where I please, and I please where I go.” – Attributed to Duke Nukem

“In America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, Party always finds you!” – Yakov Smirnoff

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.

“He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions.” The Sphinx, Mystery Men (1999)

“The great object of [Hamlet’s] life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Shakespeare’s Hamlet

“We do what we like and we like what we do.” – Andrew W.K., “Party Hard”

“We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us.” Malcolm X, “Malcolm X”

“If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” –Billy Preston

“You stood up for America, now America must stand up for you.” Barack Obama – December 14, 2011.

What Is the Difference Between Chiasmus and Antimetabole?
Antimetabole and chiasmus are very closely related and some experts even use them interchangeably but both the terms still exist to refer to two distinct literary devices. According to scholars, when a sentence is repeated after reversing it so as to convey an idea or stress on a point, it is called chiasmus. Antimetabole is not very much different from chiasmus, only that in an antimetabole the words and grammatical structure is also reversed because just reversing the meaning is not enough. So in the light of the above mentioned facts, it can be deduced that all the antimetaboles are chiasmus, but not all instances of chiasmus are antimetaboles.

A chiasmus is a sentence repeated inversely and the only condition of a chiasmic sentence is that the two clauses in the phrase are opposite in meanings. For example, the popular saying by Havelock Ellis’s, “Charm is a woman’s strength, strength is a man’s charm,” The aforementioned sentence, although, is an example of chiasmus but is not an antimetabole because the two clauses have opposite meanings but the words and the grammatical makeup are dissimilar.

In an antimetabole the word order in a sentence is reversed to contrast the meanings. One very good example is Mae West’s catchphrase, “It’s not the men in my life; it’s the life in my men.” As you can see, in this sentence the words, rhythm and grammatical structure used in the second sentence are exactly similar to the first one but only the meaning is opposite. Many experts refer to antimetabole as a subtype of chiasmus.

Functions and Effectiveness of Antimetaboles
For antimetaboles to be effective, they do not only have to be grammatically correct but should also be logical. People after studying literature for a while start thinking that they can churn out antimetaboles with a snap of a finger. They fail to understand the fact that a sentence cannot be called an antimetaboles if it is not based on a logical theme. For instance, you may witness a ‘smart Alec’ come up with a sentence like this and expect it to qualify for an antimetabole, which clearly is not the case.

Antimetaboles are popular and effective solely because they appeal to reason and are easy to remember. If the first half is relatable, then the reader or listener automatically will make sense out of the second half. For example: “It is not about the years in your life, but about the life in your years.” A sentence like this can be called an antimetabole because it is appealing, correct (logic and grammar) and has a message to convey to the readers.

Truths are often expressed this way... Which, on the surface can seem to be contradictory... Maybe, when finding two scriptures that seem to contradict, if we could put that truth into an antimetabole, we could better understand it, maybe...?

Comments...?

God Bless!

I'm not really seeing how an antimetabole is an example of a true paradox? A paradox being a seemingly contradictory statement. Merely rearranging words into different order changes the entire meaning of a statement. For example I could jumble the letters of a word into a new word. It would be absurd to then say that the same word has two meanings.

Maybe you could give some examples of paradoxical biblical truths?

Neogaia777 · Sep 26, 2017

Everybodyknows said:
I'm not really seeing how an antimetabole is an example of a true paradox? A paradox being a seemingly contradictory statement. Merely rearranging words into different order changes the entire meaning of a statement. For example I could jumble the letters of a word into a new word. It would be absurd to then say that the same word has two meanings.

Maybe you could give some examples of paradoxical biblical truths?

"Those who are first, will be last, and the last, (will be) first..."

"Whomsoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whomsoever humbles himself, will be exalted..."

"Whomsoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed"...

Those are the literal biblical ones, the next ones are biblical principles...

"Whosoever gives unto others, it (the level and what you gave unto others) it shall be given unto them, and whosoever gives unto others, it shall be given unto them...

"You reap what you sow, and sow what you reap..."

Those are all I can think of off the top of my head, there are others in scripture, I just don't know them all by heart...

It can be literal words, or biblical principles...

God Bless!

Neogaia777 · Sep 26, 2017

What kinds of literary techniques are used in the Bible?
by Alex Carmichael
edited by Matt Slick

There is an incredible variety of literary means and methods used by God in His Word to convey what He wanted to reveal to us. One may wonder, “Why did God use so many different techniques and styles in the Bible? Wouldn’t it have been easier, or even better, to use just one straightforward way of writing to get His message across?”

The simple answer to that question is that God used different people in different ways, each who were free to write in the style they were familiar with as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Chiasm

Examples of chiasmus can be found in the Bible -- they’re everywhere in God’s Word. Biblical writers used chiasmus to add emphasis to their writings, to highlight details of particular importance. Here’s an example of that, from the earliest use, in Genesis 9:6 :

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed."

Jesus Himself also used chiasmus in Matthew 19:30, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Chiasmus is just one of the many, many literary techniques found in the Bible. These techniques help to make God’s Word become even more memorable.

Here are some of the more commonly used literary devices found in Scripture:

Acrostic

This is a device found in Old Testament poetry in which the successive units of a poem begin with the consecutive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The units might be single lines, pairs of lines, or stanzas (as in Psalm 119). This can only be seen in the original Hebrew text.

Alliteration

This is the repetition of the same initial sounds of adjacent or nearby words, and is used for narrative effect. This is a literary device that can really only be seen or heard in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages of the Bible. In English, an example would be “alliteration attracts attention.”

Allusion

This is an indirect reference to something else. The person, thing, or event being alluded to is understood from a personal or cultural context or knowledge.

John 8:58, "Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Many people and events from the Bible have become allusions in the English language, such as when we refer to someone as being a “good Samaritan,” or having “the patience of Job,” or “the wisdom of Solomon,” or even having an unhealthy desire for something that is a “forbidden fruit.”

Anthropomorphism

This is a type of personification that ascribes human characteristics (such as human actions, emotions, or physical attributes) to God. This projection of human characteristics onto God was done in order to make Him more understandable to us. It is the language of appearance, of describing God in human terms.

Genesis 6:6, "And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart."

Apostrophe

This is an indirect type of personification, where the speaker addresses an inanimate object, or himself or herself, or others who cannot or do not respond to the statement or question.

Psalm 43:5, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?"
Isaiah 44:23, "Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it. Shout, you lower parts of the earth, break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it!"

Assonance

This is the repetition of the same internal sounds of adjacent or nearby words, and is used for narrative effect. This is a literary device that can really only be seen or heard in the original languages of the Bible. In English, an example of this would be “conceive it, perceive it, believe it, achieve it.”

Chiasmus

This is a figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through the reversal of the lines of a poetic structure in order to make a larger point. The two clauses display inverted parallelism.

Isaiah 6:10, "Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.”

Hyperbole

This is a use of exaggeration for emphasis or rhetorical effect.

II Chronicles 1:15, "Also the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones."
Mark 9:43, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched."
John 12:19, "The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”

Idiom

This is a figure of speech or an expression that is peculiar to a particular language, and in and of itself cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its component words taken separately. Examples in English would be “to pay through the nose,” “break a leg,” and “a bee in your bonnet.”

Matthew 23:24, "Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"

Imagery

This is the use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas.

Revelation 12:1, "Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars."

This imagery is reminiscent of Joseph’s dream of the sun, moon, and stars in Genesis 37:9.

Merism

This is a listing of opposite parts to signify a whole or a totality. For example, the division of “night/day” and “darkness/noonday” in the Psalm below means “all the time.”

Psalm 91:5-6, "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday."

Metaphor

This is a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two seemingly unlike things.

James 3:6, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity."

Metonymy

This is a type of metaphor in which something (either concrete or conceptual) is not identified by its own name, but by a name of something closely identified or associated with it, as in calling a business executive “a suit.”

Leviticus 26:6, "I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land."
Revelation 1:18, "And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

Paradox

This is a statement that seems to be illogical or contradictory on the surface, but in actually conveys a deeper truth.

Matthew 16:25, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

Parallelism

This is a figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through the lines of a poetic structure in order to make a larger point.

Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Personification

This is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human objects (usually the divine, inanimate things, or abstract ideas), and is done as a rhetorical device.

Psalm 77:16, "The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled."
Proverbs 1:20-21, "Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses at the openings of the gates in the city she speaks her words."

Simile

This is a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two seemingly unlike things things using “like” or “as.”

Matthew 28:3, "His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow."

Symbolism

This is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities, giving meaning or character to something.

Revelation 13:1, "Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name."

Synecdoche

This is a figure of speech in which: a part is used to represent the whole, or the whole for a part, or the specific for the general, or the general for the specific.

II Kings 8:9, "So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads."
Ephesians 6:12, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood."

Type

This is a literary foreshadowing, where one person or thing serves as a metaphorical prefigure (type) of another that is to come later. In the Bible, this is a person or thing (as is found in the Old Testament) prefiguring another person or thing (as is found in the New Testament). For example, the bronze snake pole that the people looked to serves as a type, or prefiguring, of the Cross.

Numbers 21:9, "So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived."
John 3:14-15, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

Wordplay

This is the witty use of the meanings and ambiguities of words. Biblical writers made plays on word meanings that can only be seen in the original languages.

Matthew 16:18, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." [Petros, the word for “Peter,” means “a small rock, stone, or pebble”; petra, the word for “rock” here, means “a large rock.”]
Philemon 1:10-11, "I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me." [Onesimus means “profitable or useful.”]

+ + + + + + +

This article was initially inspired by my three children, and it turned into an issue of my "Family Matters" newsletter.

Here's the original opening, before moving into the main section of the article, which begins with the section "Acrostic":

There is an incredible array of varying literary means and methods used by God in His Word to convey what He wanted to reveal to us. One may wonder, “Why did God use so many different techniques and styles in the Bible? Wouldn’t it have been easier, or even better, to use just one straightforward way of writing to get across His message?”.

The simple answer to that is that God delights in using His children. He delights in the talents and gifts He has given to us, and in our using them. That even comes down to the way the many human writers of the Bible expressed themselves when inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what God would have them write.

If you think of it on a human level, parents delight in the things their children do. My three kids have always loved words. When they were very young, they unwittingly brought a great amount of joy to their parents’ ears by the things they said.

Stewart, when he was very, very young, was always told to give everyone “a kiss and a cuddle” before he was put in his bed. We were at my Mum & Dad’s house one time, and he was told to “Give everyone a…”. And before I could finish my sentence, he said, “…kissle”. He combined the two key words from “a kiss and a cuddle” into one nice, new wee word.

Alasdair once told us all he knew about World War II. He was very enthusiastic and animated as he creatively expounded all his knowledge and research to us. He even rightly identified Hitler the “Nazi German” as being the “Nasty Vermin”.

As for Kirstie, when we lived in Miami, we would often take a wee holiday up to Orlando to visit my sister. One time, as we were about to leave my sister’s house, Alasdair told Kirstie that, “We have to go back to Miami now”. She responded, “Alasdair, it’s not your Ami, it’s Daddy’s Ami!”. She thought that when I said “Miami”, I was saying “My Ami”. In her mind, “Ami” was the place where we lived, and it belonged to Daddy. She was also a bit surprised to later discover that when we visited my sister, the place didn’t really belong to us, as it wasn’t “Our Lando”…

These are all nice ways in which my children have played with language. And I love that. Just as God delights in His children.

As I too love to play around with words, one of my favorite literary techniques is a type of figure of speech called “chiasmus”. Chiasmus is defined as, “A reversal in the order of words in two parallel phrases; a crosswise arrangement of concepts or words that are repeated in reverse order”.

Often it’s better to see what something is rather than to be told what it is, so here’s an example:

“Never let a fool kiss you,

or a kiss fool you.”

You’ve probably noticed them before without realizing what they are, as chiastic phrases are everywhere-- especially in the world of advertising. For instance, when a major computer company put out a revolutionary new computer system, their slogan was:

“Simply Amazing.

Amazingly Simple.”

And for something close to my heart, a famous motorcycle company’s slogan once was:

“Live to Ride.

Ride to Live.”

Many examples of chiasmus can be found in literature, and many have to do with life, the nature of true love, and the dynamics of the family. Here are just a few examples of that:

“You can give without loving,

but you cannot love without giving.”

~Amy Carmichael

“Home is where the great are small,

and the small are great.”

~Anonymous

“Direct your efforts more to preparing the youth for the path,

and less to preparing the path for the youth.”

~Ben Lindsey

“People don’t care how much you know

until they know how much you care.”

~Anonymous

Examples of chiasmus can even be found in the Bible-- they’re everywhere in God’s Word, actually. Biblical writers used chiasmus to add emphasis to their writings, to highlight details of particular importance. Here’s an example of that, from the earliest use, in Genesis 9v6:

“Whoever sheds man’s blood,

By man his blood shall be shed;”

Jesus Himself also used chiasmus in Matthew 19v30:

“But many who are first will be last,

and the last first.”

Chiasmus is just one of the many, many literary techniques found in the Bible. These techniques help to make God’s Word become even more memorable.

Neogaia777 · Sep 26, 2017

The rich are poor and the poor are rich... (biblical principle/truth)...

SkyWriting · Sep 26, 2017

Neogaia777 said:
Maybe, when finding two scriptures that seem to contradict, if we could put that truth into an antimetabole, we could better understand it, maybe...?

I can usually explain any such issues without doing any research.
Let me know what "contradictions" you encounter.

Neogaia777 · Sep 26, 2017

The greatest injustice of all, is the greatest justice of all... (biblical principle)

Neogaia777 · Sep 26, 2017

It is wise to use discretion, when to use discretion is wise...

To care is to be loving, and to love is to be caring...

To share is to care, when you care to share...

To be weak is to be strong, and to be strong is to be weak...

It is better to give than to receive, when to receive is better to give...

fun has it place, when a place is (to be) fun...

Personal growth is invaluable, when you value personal growth...

Silence is golden, when gold is silence...

God Bless!

SBC · Sep 28, 2017

Neogaia777 said:
Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

Comments...?

God Bless!

Paradoxical?
Sure, since a paradox itself is based on what "seems", not necessarily on what is.

Truth?
Concerning mankind knowledge and the truth thereof, was designed to be ever increasing.

Since mankind does NOT know all things;

mankind can know some things;
of those some things;
he can know some things are positively true.
he can know some things are positively not true.
he can guess some things might be true.
he can guess some things might not be true.

And that cycle repeats for all the new things he learns.

God Bless,
SBC

Neogaia777 · Oct 11, 2017

Re-posting...

yeshuaslavejeff · Oct 11, 2017

Neogaia777 said:
Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

There are seeming paradoxes to men,
yet
the truth, as YHWH'S WORD says,
"YHWH created everything simple"

who messed up ? (not YHWH)....

But the paradoxes are no problem for ekklesia
and the little children whose single eye is upon Jesus,
those who are wholeheartedly looking to YHWH,
walking and living by faith,
immersed in Jesus' Name and living daily always
in union with Jesus.....

Kelly McArthur · Oct 11, 2017

Neogaia777 said:
Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

Antimetaboles are a great example of this "paradoxial nature"...

Antimetabole is a literary and rhetorical device in which a phrase or sentence is repeated, but in reverse order. Writers or speakers use antimetabole for effect-calling attention to the words, or demonstrating that reality is not always what it seems by using the reversal of words.

Antimetabole Definition
Antimetabole is derived from a Greek word which means “turning about”. It is a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order.

“You like it; it likes you” and “Fair is foul and foul is fair” etc. Chiasmus and antimetabole are usually expected to be overlapped in usage and it is also often used as a synonym for Epanados in modern day books. However, the writer would make them distinct through his use.

Famous Antimetabole Examples
Just see these examples of how it has been used since the time of Socrates to the present modern age.

“Eat to live, not live to eat.”- Socrates

“I go where I please, and I please where I go.” – Attributed to Duke Nukem

“In America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, Party always finds you!” – Yakov Smirnoff

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.

“He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions.” The Sphinx, Mystery Men (1999)

“The great object of [Hamlet’s] life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Shakespeare’s Hamlet

“We do what we like and we like what we do.” – Andrew W.K., “Party Hard”

“We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us.” Malcolm X, “Malcolm X”

“If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” –Billy Preston

“You stood up for America, now America must stand up for you.” Barack Obama – December 14, 2011.

What Is the Difference Between Chiasmus and Antimetabole?
Antimetabole and chiasmus are very closely related and some experts even use them interchangeably but both the terms still exist to refer to two distinct literary devices. According to scholars, when a sentence is repeated after reversing it so as to convey an idea or stress on a point, it is called chiasmus. Antimetabole is not very much different from chiasmus, only that in an antimetabole the words and grammatical structure is also reversed because just reversing the meaning is not enough. So in the light of the above mentioned facts, it can be deduced that all the antimetaboles are chiasmus, but not all instances of chiasmus are antimetaboles.

A chiasmus is a sentence repeated inversely and the only condition of a chiasmic sentence is that the two clauses in the phrase are opposite in meanings. For example, the popular saying by Havelock Ellis’s, “Charm is a woman’s strength, strength is a man’s charm,” The aforementioned sentence, although, is an example of chiasmus but is not an antimetabole because the two clauses have opposite meanings but the words and the grammatical makeup are dissimilar.

In an antimetabole the word order in a sentence is reversed to contrast the meanings. One very good example is Mae West’s catchphrase, “It’s not the men in my life; it’s the life in my men.” As you can see, in this sentence the words, rhythm and grammatical structure used in the second sentence are exactly similar to the first one but only the meaning is opposite. Many experts refer to antimetabole as a subtype of chiasmus.

Functions and Effectiveness of Antimetaboles
For antimetaboles to be effective, they do not only have to be grammatically correct but should also be logical. People after studying literature for a while start thinking that they can churn out antimetaboles with a snap of a finger. They fail to understand the fact that a sentence cannot be called an antimetaboles if it is not based on a logical theme. For instance, you may witness a ‘smart Alec’ come up with a sentence like this and expect it to qualify for an antimetabole, which clearly is not the case.

Antimetaboles are popular and effective solely because they appeal to reason and are easy to remember. If the first half is relatable, then the reader or listener automatically will make sense out of the second half. For example: “It is not about the years in your life, but about the life in your years.” A sentence like this can be called an antimetabole because it is appealing, correct (logic and grammar) and has a message to convey to the readers.

Truths are often expressed this way... Which, on the surface can seem to be contradictory... Maybe, when finding two scriptures that seem to contradict, if we could put that truth into an antimetabole, we could better understand it, maybe...?

Comments...?

God Bless!

Gottservant · Oct 12, 2017

So well researched!

You have a little inspired me: you can see in my motto "God loves your words, may men love them also" - it seems God may love the literary technique of your words above and beyond what men love!

How it must feel to know God has loved even the literary technique of your words...

Neogaia777 · Oct 21, 2017

Neogaia777 said:
Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

Antimetaboles are a great example of this "paradoxial nature"...

Antimetabole is a literary and rhetorical device in which a phrase or sentence is repeated, but in reverse order. Writers or speakers use antimetabole for effect-calling attention to the words, or demonstrating that reality is not always what it seems by using the reversal of words.

Antimetabole Definition
Antimetabole is derived from a Greek word which means “turning about”. It is a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order.

“You like it; it likes you” and “Fair is foul and foul is fair” etc. Chiasmus and antimetabole are usually expected to be overlapped in usage and it is also often used as a synonym for Epanados in modern day books. However, the writer would make them distinct through his use.

Famous Antimetabole Examples
Just see these examples of how it has been used since the time of Socrates to the present modern age.

“Eat to live, not live to eat.”- Socrates

“I go where I please, and I please where I go.” – Attributed to Duke Nukem

“In America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, Party always finds you!” – Yakov Smirnoff

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.

“He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions.” The Sphinx, Mystery Men (1999)

“The great object of [Hamlet’s] life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Shakespeare’s Hamlet

“We do what we like and we like what we do.” – Andrew W.K., “Party Hard”

“We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us.” Malcolm X, “Malcolm X”

“If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” –Billy Preston

“You stood up for America, now America must stand up for you.” Barack Obama – December 14, 2011.

What Is the Difference Between Chiasmus and Antimetabole?
Antimetabole and chiasmus are very closely related and some experts even use them interchangeably but both the terms still exist to refer to two distinct literary devices. According to scholars, when a sentence is repeated after reversing it so as to convey an idea or stress on a point, it is called chiasmus. Antimetabole is not very much different from chiasmus, only that in an antimetabole the words and grammatical structure is also reversed because just reversing the meaning is not enough. So in the light of the above mentioned facts, it can be deduced that all the antimetaboles are chiasmus, but not all instances of chiasmus are antimetaboles.

A chiasmus is a sentence repeated inversely and the only condition of a chiasmic sentence is that the two clauses in the phrase are opposite in meanings. For example, the popular saying by Havelock Ellis’s, “Charm is a woman’s strength, strength is a man’s charm,” The aforementioned sentence, although, is an example of chiasmus but is not an antimetabole because the two clauses have opposite meanings but the words and the grammatical makeup are dissimilar.

In an antimetabole the word order in a sentence is reversed to contrast the meanings. One very good example is Mae West’s catchphrase, “It’s not the men in my life; it’s the life in my men.” As you can see, in this sentence the words, rhythm and grammatical structure used in the second sentence are exactly similar to the first one but only the meaning is opposite. Many experts refer to antimetabole as a subtype of chiasmus.

Functions and Effectiveness of Antimetaboles
For antimetaboles to be effective, they do not only have to be grammatically correct but should also be logical. People after studying literature for a while start thinking that they can churn out antimetaboles with a snap of a finger. They fail to understand the fact that a sentence cannot be called an antimetaboles if it is not based on a logical theme. For instance, you may witness a ‘smart Alec’ come up with a sentence like this and expect it to qualify for an antimetabole, which clearly is not the case.

Antimetaboles are popular and effective solely because they appeal to reason and are easy to remember. If the first half is relatable, then the reader or listener automatically will make sense out of the second half. For example: “It is not about the years in your life, but about the life in your years.” A sentence like this can be called an antimetabole because it is appealing, correct (logic and grammar) and has a message to convey to the readers.

Truths are often expressed this way... Which, on the surface can seem to be contradictory... Maybe, when finding two scriptures that seem to contradict, if we could put that truth into an antimetabole, we could better understand it, maybe...?

Comments...?

God Bless!

.

Kelly McArthur · Oct 22, 2017

Neogaia777 said:
It is wise to use discretion, when to use discretion is wise...

To care is to be loving, and to love is to be caring...

To share is to care, when you care to share...

To be weak is to be strong, and to be strong is to be weak...

It is better to give than to receive, when to receive is better to give...

fun has it place, when a place is (to be) fun...

Personal growth is invaluable, when you value personal growth...

Silence is golden, when gold is silence...

God Bless!

As Being is to Becoming, so is Truth to Belief. Plato

sparow · Oct 23, 2017

Neogaia777 said:
Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

Antimetaboles are a great example of this "paradoxial nature"...

Antimetabole is a literary and rhetorical device in which a phrase or sentence is repeated, but in reverse order. Writers or speakers use antimetabole for effect-calling attention to the words, or demonstrating that reality is not always what it seems by using the reversal of words.

Antimetabole Definition
Antimetabole is derived from a Greek word which means “turning about”. It is a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order.

“You like it; it likes you” and “Fair is foul and foul is fair” etc. Chiasmus and antimetabole are usually expected to be overlapped in usage and it is also often used as a synonym for Epanados in modern day books. However, the writer would make them distinct through his use.

Famous Antimetabole Examples
Just see these examples of how it has been used since the time of Socrates to the present modern age.

“Eat to live, not live to eat.”- Socrates

“I go where I please, and I please where I go.” – Attributed to Duke Nukem

“In America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, Party always finds you!” – Yakov Smirnoff

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.

“He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions.” The Sphinx, Mystery Men (1999)

“The great object of [Hamlet’s] life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge on Shakespeare’s Hamlet

“We do what we like and we like what we do.” – Andrew W.K., “Party Hard”

“We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us.” Malcolm X, “Malcolm X”

“If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” –Billy Preston

“You stood up for America, now America must stand up for you.” Barack Obama – December 14, 2011.

What Is the Difference Between Chiasmus and Antimetabole?
Antimetabole and chiasmus are very closely related and some experts even use them interchangeably but both the terms still exist to refer to two distinct literary devices. According to scholars, when a sentence is repeated after reversing it so as to convey an idea or stress on a point, it is called chiasmus. Antimetabole is not very much different from chiasmus, only that in an antimetabole the words and grammatical structure is also reversed because just reversing the meaning is not enough. So in the light of the above mentioned facts, it can be deduced that all the antimetaboles are chiasmus, but not all instances of chiasmus are antimetaboles.

A chiasmus is a sentence repeated inversely and the only condition of a chiasmic sentence is that the two clauses in the phrase are opposite in meanings. For example, the popular saying by Havelock Ellis’s, “Charm is a woman’s strength, strength is a man’s charm,” The aforementioned sentence, although, is an example of chiasmus but is not an antimetabole because the two clauses have opposite meanings but the words and the grammatical makeup are dissimilar.

In an antimetabole the word order in a sentence is reversed to contrast the meanings. One very good example is Mae West’s catchphrase, “It’s not the men in my life; it’s the life in my men.” As you can see, in this sentence the words, rhythm and grammatical structure used in the second sentence are exactly similar to the first one but only the meaning is opposite. Many experts refer to antimetabole as a subtype of chiasmus.

Functions and Effectiveness of Antimetaboles
For antimetaboles to be effective, they do not only have to be grammatically correct but should also be logical. People after studying literature for a while start thinking that they can churn out antimetaboles with a snap of a finger. They fail to understand the fact that a sentence cannot be called an antimetaboles if it is not based on a logical theme. For instance, you may witness a ‘smart Alec’ come up with a sentence like this and expect it to qualify for an antimetabole, which clearly is not the case.

Antimetaboles are popular and effective solely because they appeal to reason and are easy to remember. If the first half is relatable, then the reader or listener automatically will make sense out of the second half. For example: “It is not about the years in your life, but about the life in your years.” A sentence like this can be called an antimetabole because it is appealing, correct (logic and grammar) and has a message to convey to the readers.

Truths are often expressed this way... Which, on the surface can seem to be contradictory... Maybe, when finding two scriptures that seem to contradict, if we could put that truth into an antimetabole, we could better understand it, maybe...?

Comments...?

God Bless!

Truth is to do with quality and accuracy. "The truth" refers to a specific application of quality and accuracy; "the truth" that saves probably refers to the word of God, the antithesis to the word of men which does not save. Paradox; contrary to received opinion can also mean absurd.

If it can be called paradoxical in nature it should not be called truth. Seemingly, paradoxes appear when the scriptures are misunderstood or taken literally.

Is the truth "paradoxial" in nature, and is that why it can seem on the surface to be contradictory?

Old Soul

Nonexistent Member

ImJustMe

Old Soul

Retired Coach, Now Missionary to the World

The good guys lost

Old Soul

Old Soul

Old Soul

The Librarian

Old Soul

Old Soul

Well-Known Member

Old Soul

simple truth, martyr, disciple of Yahshua

Active Member

God loves your words, may men love them also

Old Soul

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads