Approaches to Contradictions

I was reading through that list of "Contradiction Approahces" yesterday that Keiser gave us and I really liked #10 which is a mix of 5, 6, and 8. The contradictions really do seem to be real but understandable if the writer is just expressing his oberservations of the world. What are you guys thinking as you have read through some of these this week?

Approaches to Contradictions:

1. Only Apparent Contradictions: 6 Hermeneutical rules that unify.
-There is really nothing in the text that indicates these rules. They seem to be a bit forced upon the text so that you can basically just come up with whatever rule you need to harmonize every contradiction.

2. A Combination of Qoheleth’s writings along with many editor’s.

3. Debate Between a Skeptic and Man of Faith

4. Traditional Wisdom Quotations- refuted or modified
-The problem with this view is that there is really nothing in the text to indicate any real quotations. Finding quotations is not crucial to interpreting the book. If this was important to the author, he would have made this much clearer. Even if these proverbs are not his own, they become “his own” by virtue of the way he uses them (Fox).

5. Thesis-Antithesis Synthesis of Tradition Wisdom Teaching(yes-but sayings- 12 of these)
-Some would take this to be another’s view pitted against Qoheleth, however again, the problem is that there is not indication of the thesis (yes) being anything other than Qoheleth’s own observations. This also does not actually create a resolution but only leaves one with contradiction still (which may not necessarily be a bad thing if this is Qoheleth’s point). The 2 sayings seem to equally be Qoheleth’s own beliefs.

6. Dialectic b/t Qoheleth and Tradition Wisdom Teaching
-Again, the problem is that there is not indication of which points of view are traditional teaching and those that are Qoheleth’s. Fox says, “Qoheleth gives no guidance in making this determination, since the commentators agree so little on where the traditional material lie or what their function is. Qoheleth undoubtedly was in dialectic with his predecessors, but his is true of all Wisdom Lit…. it is a caricature to depict ‘traditional’ wisdom as a monolithic body of orthodox doctrines against which a radical Qoheleth is bravely rebuffing….He never sets himself against traditional wisdom, but simply folds traditional (earlier) wisdom into his own teachings and moves in a direction of his own.”

7. Synthesis of Thesis-Antithesis (harmonization of polar opposites)

8. Real Contradictions
-This views says that these contradictions are not in the writer himself but genuine contradictions that he observes in the world. Thus, life and the universe itself is contradictory, not Qoheleth.

9. Schizophrenia

10. Dialogue b/t Qoheleth and Himself
-combo of…
Dialogue view (5), “yes but” sayings (6), & Genuine contradictions (8)