oxymoron. Let us consider an important attempt to answer the question. In his The Cross of Christ John Stott criticizes the view of P. T. Forsyth, which asserts that ‘there is nothing in the Bible about the strife of attributes’.49 Hosea 11 provides Stott with evidence against Forsyth’s contention. According to Stott: All parents know the costliness of love, and what it means to be ‘torn apart’ by conflicting emotions, especially when there is a need to punish the children. Perhaps the boldest of