Tituscular Paradox

A short article I wrote on one of the most obvious Biblical errors.

Tituscular Paradox

One particular gem of an example of Biblical error is found in Titus 1:12 which follows:

Titus 1:12

Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons."

This is historically attributed to Epimenides, a Cretian philosopher from around 600 BC, and here, supposedly related by Paul to Titus in this Epistle. The problem is whether Epimenides is lying or not.

At first glance, this seems to represent a problem since if the statement that "Cretans are always liars" is true, then Epimenides, being a Cretan, would have to be lying and his statement would have to be false, leading to a paradox.

Unfortunately, if Epimenides is lying about "Cretans are always liars", there is no paradox, since this means that Cretans don't always lie, when means there is at least one Cretan out there who must tell the truth every now and then. This Cretan doesn't have to be Epimenides.

This appears to put a damper on using Titus 1:12 as an example of a Biblical error, since the only way it can become a paradox is if Epimenides is telling the truth. He could be lying with no problems.

Fortunately Paul comes to our rescue with Titus 1:13:

This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith


If Paul is telling the truth, then we have a paradox. If Paul is lying, then how can we trust anything else he supposedly says in the Bible?