When you read the books written by the Apostle Paul you realize you are reading a very well educated man. He was a Pharisee trained under Gamaliel, one of the most famous Jewish Rabbis. He also knew Greek and was obviously familiar with Greek writings as well. One of these examples is found in the book of Titus. Titus was a younger disciple, who was sent to Crete and here Paul is teaching him through a letter. Suddenly in the text we get this weird passage.
10 "For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith". (Titus 1:10-13)
The reason this is called the Liar's Paradox is because if a man is from Crete and says that all men from Crete are liars; how can you know if he is telling the truth or not? A paradox simply means 1 of 2 things: 1) The statement is false because it is impossible 2) It seems contradictory, but in reality expresses a truth that is not easy to see or understand.
Let's begin with Paul. Is he showing his true colors as a racist here? Would he dump a whole group of people together as all good-for-nothings? No of course not! If we are to understand what is going on, we must make an attempt to figure out what he is talking about when he says "One of themselves, a prophet of their own said 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' " (By the way, yes....if you are from Crete you are by definition a Cretan. I know you were wondering about that.) Now back to our story.
Who was this guy Paul came up with to quote?
Somewhere around 600 BC there was a man named Epimenides. He was supposed to have been a prophet, a miracle worker, a vision seer, and a poet. This poet part is the most important here because it is why the Apostle quotes him. How exactly does a man get away with saying his entire country is full of liars however? According to A.P. Staff in an article at the Apologetics Press website
"The first step in understanding this alleged contradiction is to realize that Epimenides was a poet. Poets, playwrights, and other writers sometimes use a literary technique known as hyperbole, which is a deliberate exaggeration used to make a point. To say that “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons,” is to say that the Cretan society as a whole was immoral and decadent, not necessarily that every single individual in that society was a liar, evil beast, or lazy glutton."It is not a new phenomenon in the history of the world to think the time we live in is the most corrupt time ever. People often refer to ideas of how their childhood was better or how the up and coming generation is worse. The truth is that there have always been people who say this. People over the ages may live in a different world, but the traits of what makes man a human are always basically the same. When someone says something to the effect of "Young people today don't respect their elders" they do not mean every single individual, but use these terms as blankets to generalize the whole group.
Now that we have found out what the poet meant, lets look at the social impact of statements like this. If you tell someone something over and over again it becomes very hard to fight it. In a way it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If a man sees his entire country and everyone in it as liars, why should he be anything else? After all it is expected of him. This was the challenge Titus faced. How should he deal with a people that have been told there whole lives they are liars and no good? What should he do to overcome a national stereo-type they had created?
The next verse in Titus is Paul telling him to "reprove them severely, so that they may be sound in the faith." This is a concept Christians should be familiar with. When you reprove someone you are not criticizing to be mean, but to help them grow. It means be tough with someone who is harsh with themselves, but do it in a way they know you love them. I would call it "Tough Love." Being the good guy isn't always fun!
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