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GREG'S THOUGHTS ON LOGIC


It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been said, that if there had been no God, mankind would have been obliged to imagine one.

--- James K. Paulding, A Life of Washington, 1836 , Vol. II, p. 208. (Johnson, 263-264)

It is a fundamental principle that to renounce reason is to renounce religion, that religion and reason go hand in hand; all irrational religion is false religion

-- John Wesley

I have, what I believe to be, some unique thoughts on the subject of logic and how it relates to faith, particularly the Christian faith.

First of all, let me give a simple definition of logic. Logic, simply put, is "if x, then y", where "x" is a presupposition and "y" is a conclusion based upon it. Logic is a consistent way to apply any belief system (presupposition).

A person has to have knowledge or a belief to apply logic. In other words, without "x", one cannot deduce "y".

I believe that logic is natural to humans. In fact, it's even natural to animals, to a lesser degree. Without some sort of logic, a child could never be disciplined. An animal could never be trained.

For instance, if a toddler is about to stick it's hand in a light socket, a good parent will discipline the child in such a way that the child will associate a negative experience with this behavior. The child then reasons that because this behavior causes a negative experience, it will keep its fingers away from the socket. An animal will quickly learn that by behaving in certain ways, it can have positive or negative outcomes. A dog can be trained to not run out into the street if the owner provides a deterrent or incentive for such behavior.

Now this doesn't mean that people are always logical. Bias does get in the way. I will explain this more later.

Keeping this definition in mind, I have several interesting conclusions pertaining to logic, that I will address in this text. They are:


The God of the Bible is Logical

If this is true, you may ask, "Why then, do bad things happen to good people?" Let me use the story of Job, to answer this question.

Job was a righteous man. He was extremely blessed until one day, God took it all away. He took his riches, his children and his health. This, on the surface appears to be illogical. But remember, according to the definition that I stated above, logic, has to be applied to information. If one doesn't have "x", then one can't come to the conclusion of "y". Job didn't have the full story.

The reader of Job, on the other hand, is given a "privileged perspective". We're given additional information that Job is not given. We're told that Satan has appeared before God and challenged him, stating that the only reason that Job is faithful to him is because God has built a "hedge" around him. In other words, why would Job "bite the hand that feeds him"? This is why God allows Job to suffer. To prove to Satan that Job's faithfulness is not dependent upon God's blessings.

Now you may ask, "But if God's infinite, couldn't he have defeated Satan's challenge without harming Job?". You may also ask, "Why did God even allow evil into the world in the first place." I don't have answers to these questions, just as Job couldn't answer the gnawing question concerning the reason for his suffering. This doesn't mean that the answers to these questions defy reasoning, it only means that just as Job didn't have "x" to apply to logic, I don't have "x" to allow me to apply logic in answering these questions. This doesn't mean that "x" doesn't exist. It only means that I'm limited in knowledge.

Romans 9:18-20 addresses this question:

"Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault" For who hath resisted His will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Romans 9:22 says:

What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory

To further illustrate my point that God is logical, take any doctrine of scripture. You will find that God never advocates a "blind faith". He always gives believers a reason for faith. For example, the reason the stone was rolled away from Christ's tomb was not so that Christ could get out, (after all, he could walk through walls) but so that the world could see that the tomb was empty (see Luke 24:1-4).

A few verses later, (Luke 24:14--53) the disciples, unbeknownst to them, are visited by Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Thinking him to be a stranger, he reasons with them, taking them through all of the scriptures, showing them the things that must be fulfilled concerning the Messiah. He didn't merely advocate that they "just believe". He gave them reasons.

Christ also reasoned with his dissenters, the Pharisees and Sadducees, concerning issues such as the Sabbath, marriage and divorce, the resurrection, his healings and other matters. In the Old testament, God gave the children of Israel proofs including the parting of the Red Sea, the miracles of the plagues of Egypt, the divine provision of food and water in the desert and much more!

I do need to caution the reader who may be asking, "Where are all of those supernatural proofs today?". Although I believe that God still supernaturally intervenes in the world today, the primary reason that God used miracles in "Bible times" was because His written Word hadn't been fully revealed. Today, God is revealing himself primarily through His word with the help of the Holy Spirit. Click here to read about reasons to believe that the Bible is the Word of God.

Logic requires faith

Of course, this is a statement that is the logical conclusion based upon a presupposition that man is finite, particularly in knowledge. I don't know anyone who would argue otherwise. I do know some that would argue that man will not always be limited, but based upon this presupposition, this means that some truths exist outside of man's current knowledge.

At first glance, one might conclude that one should not embrace any truth that cannot be proven, even though certain truths do exist outside of man's current knowledge. The problem with this conclusion is that many decisions in life require that one take a "leap" of faith. For instance, every time we get into our cars, we have a certain degree of faith (enough to override our fears) that we will have a safe trip. If one was convinced that the trip wasn't going to be safe, then one would choose not to get into the car. That same "leap" applies, every time we step into an airplane or even plan for the future. We're assuming that we'll be alive. Many times we're right, but inevitably, almost all of us will be wrong about this assumption before we die.

The bottom line? Because man is limited, faith is required because truth does exist outside of man's ability to know and many of these truths are required in order to make certain inevitable choices in life.


Biblical faith and logic are not mutually exclusive

Many people (Christians and non-Christians alike) believe that faith and logic are antithetical to one another. It is true that "faith", as the word is typically defined, can be opposed to logic. But faith, as the Bible defines it, is complementary to logic.

Keep in mind, that from the Christian perspective, the Bible is divinely inspired and therefore cannot contradict itself. Because of this unique claim, scripture is said, by theologians, to interpret itself. In other words, whenever a question concerning the interpretation of a scripture appears, the best way to solve the anomaly is to find other scripture which sheds light on the anomalous verse, because after all, God cannot contradict himself.

I believe that even Abraham (who is considered the epitome of a man of "faith") used this logic when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. Prior to Abraham receiving this command, Abraham had received a promise from the Lord that out of his son, Isaac, would come a nation of people so great that their number could be compared to the stars of the sky and the sands of the earth.

So, Abraham had received, a command that contradicted a previous promise from God. But, because Abraham believed that God couldn't lie, (presupposition x) he concluded that there must a way that the promise could agree with the command. The answer? God would have Abraham kill Isaac, and afterwards, he would be resurrected.

Hebrews 11:17-19 says,

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. Of whom it was said, "That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:" Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

So, as you can see, Abraham, applied logic to his presupposition that God couldn't contradict His word and acted in "faith".

Now that I've established that scripture should be used to interpret scripture, let's turn to another contradiction pertaining to faith and logic.

Hebrews 11:1 says:

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

Taken out of context with the rest of the Bible, this verse would seem to justify "blind faith" (believing in something without any reason). But this contradicts the use of logic found on every page of scripture. In addition to contradicting some of the examples that I've given above, (Jesus' resurrection, Emmaus, Abraham, children of Israel) this "blind faith" interpretation also contradicts the following scripture:

I Peter 3:15 "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" [emphasis mine]

This scripture clearly advocates that believers should be able to give a reason (KJ translates the word as "answer") for their faith. Therefore, faith is not something that one embraces without reason. Faith is actually chosen based upon reason, as the following section will demonstrate.

Non-axiomatic truth should be examined using the "probability test"

Imagine that you're standing before a chasm that you have to cross. The chasm could be a river valley, a lake, a canyon, or even a crater on the moon. There are two bridges that are parallel to one another and either one will take you where you want to go.

The first bridge looks very modern. It's steel and very big. It doesn't show any signs of aging. The second bridge is wooden and has signs of aging, but is not so dilapidated as to be uncrossable. Which bridge would you most likely choose? The steel bridge of course. Did you make your choice because you know absolutely, 100% without a doubt, that the steel bridge will not fall under your weight? NO. It is not impossible that the steel bridge will not fall under your weight, only improbable, based upon your current level of knowledge. Do you know, without a doubt, that the wooden bridge would fall under your weight? Again, the answer is no. Is it possible that no matter which bridge you would choose, it would fall? Yes. Is it possible that both bridges could fall at the same time while you're on one of them? Yes. Is it possible that the old bridge could support you while the steel bridge would fall? Yes.

So why did you choose the new bridge? Because although, the alternative possibilities exist, they are all significantly less probable than the possibility of the new bridge falling under your weight. Because you don't know the future, no matter what choice you make, it is a choice which requires faith. You chose your faith based upon probability. You took the path of "least resistance".

I believe that the Bible meets this "probability test". I will explain this in detail in an upcoming article. But, let me give just a few examples. The historicity of Jesus is already undeniable (if you haven't read why, click here). With this in mind, what are the chances of a man convincing a bunch of followers that he has died and resurrected? Slim to none considering the way Christ died. And there are over hundreds of prophecies in scripture which were fulfilled in Christ. What are the chances of those prophecies being "lucky guesses"? Check out my text on is the Bible the Word of God to see more reasons like these.


Final thoughts on logic

Lest, I be misunderstood, let me state unequivocally, that I do not believe that logic alone, can lead someone to truth. In fact, as a Christian, I believe that no man can come to Christ without the leading of the Holy Spirit. But nevertheless, I do believe that the truth of Christ is logical. It is even possible that one's logic (based also upon the "probability test") could lead them to conclude that Christianity is true, but unless they are lead by the Holy Spirit, they will be in a state of self denial.

With all of the above in mind, there are five possible types of thinking which can determine beliefs. They are:

The selectively logical person, is logical whenever it is convenient to their desired outcome. This is usually called "bias". All of us are prone to being selectively logical and have to continually examine our motives. Anyone can be blinded by bias.

One reason people can be selectively logical is because of the following truth:

Logic, when applied to any presupposition, ALWAYS leads to some unfavorable conclusions.

This doesn't mean that all logical outcomes are unfavorable, it only means that when logic is applied to any belief system, at least one unfavorable conclusion can be drawn from the presupposition.

An unfavorable conclusion to Christian presuppositions is that man isn't sovereign and must submit to God's will. Sin is another unfavorable outcome of Christianity. (By the way, this is why the criticism of Christianity being a "crutch" for the "weak-minded" is an illegitimate claim. An unfavorable conclusion to atheism is that life becomes void of meaning and purpose. Another unfavorable conclusion to atheism is that the advocation of any sociably viable moral code is impossible to justify. An unfavorable conclusion to theism (in general) is that (G)od is only believed in, and not known. Belief in such a god becomes irrelevant. An unfavorable conclusion to the belief that "all is good and pleasant" is that such a belief system flies in the fact of reality. It violates the "law of contradiction" (See my article on truth

The important thing for a person of any belief system (whether right or wrong) to do, is to at least live consistently with it, by using logic as a guide. Christians that do not apply their faith logically are called "hypocrites" and rightly so.

Many nonchristians are afraid that Christians are going to coerce them to become Christians through government legislation. Unfortunately, I've heard many Christian advocates speak in ways that substantiate these fears. (We Christians are just as afraid of nonchristians coercing us to be nonchristians as well) Most nonchristians' solution to this fear is to separate religion from the state. This is an offense to Christians (and adherents of other religions) because it implies that truth is relative. I believe there's a better solution. Nonchristians should advocate that Christians consistently live out Biblical principles. Nonchristians should hold Christians to the teachings of Christ and hold them to at least interpreting the Bible objectively. An objective interpretation of the Bible will not allow conversion through coercive means. Remember, Jesus never ever advocated Christians to convert unbelievers through the changing of laws but rather the changing of hearts.

You may ask why I have such a strong faith in logic. First of all, as a Christian, I see God using it (as defined above) all the time. Also, because it is such a natural disposition of people, (except when they have ulterior motives) I believe that the Creator has given us this innate ability for a reason. In order that we might use it. After all, it's found on every page of the Bible.
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