A preacher noticed a group of boys standing around a small stray dog. "What are you doing, boys?"
"Telling lies," said one of the boys. "The one who tells the biggest lie gets the dog."
"Why, when I was your age," the shocked minister said, "I never ever thought of telling a lie."
The boys looked at one another, a little crestfallen. Finally one of them shrugged and said, "I guess he wins the dog."
What is the difference between the truth and a lie?
I would like us to go to a deeper level of “thinking like a Christian.” Maybe you have never thought too much about this, but I would like to suggest to you that Christians need to resurrect the study of basic logic. I would guess that most of you have never been in a class at church that focused on logic. I want to change that today, because I think some basic knowledge of logic is crucial in order to “think like a Christian.
Well, what is logic? Very simply, logic is the study of how to think and reason in the RIGHT way. We are talking about “thinking like a Christian,” so let me tell you several reasons why logic is so important in helping us to “think like a Christian.”
Logic is from God – he CREATED it.
Last week we talked about Proverbs 2:6 - God is the source of wisdom – the very starting point. Truth starts with him and comes from Him. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from Him and are spoken to us in human language through His Word. God reveals His truth and wisdom to us as we read and study the Bible.
If there were no logic –then human language could mean whatever you want it to mean.
There was a university professor from Canada who tried to get out of a ticket for running a stop sign. His excuse was that the stop sign was too “vague.” There was a guy who was appealing to his postmodern view of truth and reason to get out of his charge. Logic is God’s FOUNDATION of human thought and speech. So, in studying logic, we are studying the way that God reveals himself to people through words.
Now there are many people who think that logic is a pagan, worldly thing, and that Christians shouldn’t waste their time talking about it – that we shouldn’t use a logical defense when people speak against Christ or his Word. But the Scripture says otherwise.
1 Peter 3:15 …Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…
The word “answer” is the Greek word “Apologia” from which we get the word “apologetics,” which means a DEFENSE of the faith. It means answering or defending a challenge in a logical and reasonable way. We are not to beat people in the head with it – we are to do this gently and respectfully (even though those on the other side are not gentle or respectful.) So, we can’t not use logic to obey the Scripture and make a defense of the faith. Logic is a concept that that cannot be escaped!
Like I said, though, some folks think you shouldn’t use “logic” in apologetics, and here are some of their reasons, and a response:
Arguments against using “Logic” in apologetics:
1. God does not FIT within the realm of human logic.
Can’t an omnipotent God do anything He wants? Because God created human language and the ways humans think and talk to each other, wouldn’t it be ridiculous to think that God would break his own rules for thinking and communication? Can God make a rock bigger than He can lift? A square circle? If God could make a square circle, then NOTHING that God does would make sense!
2. Don’t MIRACLES (breaking natural laws) defy logic?
If God doesn’t break his own logical rules, then doesn’t he do so when he causes a miracle to happen? No, because a miracle is more correctly defined as an interruption of natural law than breaking it. God doesn’t bend or break the rules in a miracle – he overcomes them. We may say that miracles “defy logic,” but that really means that miracles are beyond our explanation. We wouldn’t understand Biblical miracles at all if the Bible did not use a LOGICAL explanation – the miracle came from God.
3. Aren’t we supposed to not PREPARE what we’re going to say? (Luke 21:14-15)
This text is not saying, "Do not study your Bible, do not search out the truth, do not think through matters. Just go in with a blank mind and expect the Lord to fill it with momentary wisdom." Rather, the emphasis is on not WORRYING about it. Always be prepared to defend your faith so that you do not have to anxiously prepare a reply at the last moment. We should be prepared to go in and address the situation out of the treasury of matters which we have already studied through and stored in our mind. We do not need any special preparation. We are always prepared. When the time comes, the Lord will help us with the final details of delivery.
(From http://www.christianlogic.com/articles/logical_defense.htm or see previous post)
4. Aren’t we supposed to take everything on FAITH?
How do we know what to put our faith in? Faith is our confidence in God’s truth. Faith in God and His Word is not a “blind faith,” but a faith based in logical EVIDENCE.
5. Wasn’t logic invented by the PAGAN philosopher Aristotle?
St. Augustine, a Christian in the fourth century, answered this question. Augustine explained that logic is not an invention of pagan philosophers, as some men objected, but a science which man has LEARNED from God. "...[T]he validity of logical sequences is not a thing devised by men, but is observed and noted by them.... ...[I]t exists eternally in the reason of things, and has its origin with God. Logic is not a dubious non-Christian method of reasoning. All of the fundamental laws of logic can be found in the Bible.
1 Corinthians 10:5 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Isaiah 1:18-20 18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Logic helps define and communicate TRUTH. (No logic – no truth!)
The reason why our culture does not like logic or even attempt to use logic is because our worldly system hates truth, and logical thinking forces truth into the LIGHT.
The result is, as apologist Ravi Zacharias puts it, a GENERATION that "hears with its eyes and thinks with its feelings." The fuzzy grammar of media is what allows people to believe things like "that may be true for you, but not for me." Our image-saturated culture is one in which almost everything is subject to interpretation -- and no interpretation takes precedence over any other. It is a world in which all truth is presumed to be subjective.
And since all truth is presumed to be subjective, it is diminished to the level of opinion. But truth has a hard bite to it. Truth is always true. If it is from God it is always true. If it is man’s opinion and not backed up by God’s truth, it is not true. There are three very basic laws of logic that help us define and communicate truth:
The law of noncontradiction (A is not non-A)
Examples:
Ø Jumbo Shrimp?
Ø Military Intelligence?
Ø Unbiased opinion (opposite meanings)
Ø Country music is not music
Ø Sense is not nonsense
Ø Half truths are OK (contradiction because truth cannot be divided)
Ø Balance is not unbalanced
Ø A burning flame is not extinguished
Ø Black is not white
Ø Perfect Christian
Ø My lie will help someone so it is right. (Contradiction – lie and “right” are opposite)
Ø Cats are not dogs
Ø Men are women if they want to be (contradiction because it goes against natural order)
Ø Homosexuality is OK (contradiction because it goes against God’s known, logical, moral law.
On a beautiful fall day, four teen girls decided to go for a drive instead of showing up to class on time. When they did arrive, the girls explained to the teacher they had had a flat tire. The teacher accepted the excuse, much to the girls' relief.
"Since you missed this morning's quiz, you must take it now," she said. "Please sit in the four corner seats in this room without talking." When they were seated, the teacher said, "On your paper write the answer to one question: 'Which tire was flat?'"
The law of identity (A is A)
Examples:
Ø I am a person, man, husband, father, son, brother, etc, but I am not a sister, airplane, penguin, ax murderer, etc. Logic requires that words mean what they mean.
Ø The guy who thought he was dead. They showed him medical textbooks and convinced him that dead men cannot bleed. Then they pricked him with a pin and said, "Look, see, you are bleeding." He said, "What do you know, dead men do bleed!" By altering his view of dead men bleeding, this man logically resolved the contradiction within his belief system between his belief that he was dead, and his belief that dead men cannot bleed.
The law of excluded middle (either A or non-A)
Nothing can hide in the cracks between the two opposites. There is no “fence to sit on”
Revelation 3:15-16 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
3. Logic CONFRONTS the inconsistencies and lies of worldly thinking.
False reasoning is SELF-DEFEATING; our job is simply to expose it. A relativist is one who believes there are no absolutes. The relativist reasons this way:
Absolutes and Universal laws do not exist.
Laws of Logic are absolutes and universal laws.
Therefore, Laws of Logic do not exist.
Does anyone detect a problem with this kind of reasoning? It requires that we presuppose the laws of logic in order to DISPROVE the existence of those very laws. The unbeliever always borrows from the truth in order to build his system. It is like the man who denied the existence of air — all the way up to his last dying breath! Sometimes a simple QUESTION can expose the inherent contradiction within belief statements:
Language is not meaningful. (What do you mean by that?)
There are no absolutes. (Are you absolutely sure about that?)
All Logic is false. There is no such thing as truth. (How can that be true?)
When we are going to do some work, it is always a good idea to bring along our toolbox. One of the things we want in our Apologetic toolbox is a good assortment of questions. When used correctly, questions can be effective tools. The right kind of question can act as a gauge to see whether someone is in the mood to talk. A good question can act as a pry bar to open up a closed conversation. If someone happens to react negatively to our questions, then we can always stop asking questions.
A continuous barrage of direct demanding questions can be very taxing on an individual and may border on the rude. So instead of repeating a question which demands much thought and a detailed answer, we may offer a multiple choice.
"What happens when you die?
1) Do you just cease to exist.
2) Are you reincarnated as some other living being.
3) Or do you pass on to a final judgement before your Creator."
And do not forget to follow up with, "how do you know?" Because we are trying to open up our opponent, we need plenty of "How do you know" pry bars in our toolbox. Here are a few:
"How can you be sure that is true?"
"Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were wrong?"
"Are you sure you want to build your life around the certainty of that?"
"How would you prove that that is the case?"
"Have you ever doubted that?"
"Has anyone ever questioned you on that?"
"How did you arrive at that conclusion?"
These are a few good "How do you know" type questions for our toolbox. When someone redirects the "how do you know" question back on us, then we need a good redirector in our toolbox, like, "What would you accept as evidence?" followed up with, "Why?" Ultimately, you want to drive them to see that everything which they believe is unreliable and self-contradictory, and that there is only one reliable and non-contradictory belief system, and that is the one revealed by God in the Bible.
Do not be afraid to ask "What do you mean?" Entire conversations turn on definitions of terms and ideas. "Would you explain what you mean by that?" Often, the person you are speaking with actually does not know what he means. You need to make sure he does know what you mean. Be sure to press the practical ramifications of his faith. "What do you see as the consequences of what you believe?" "What difference does it make?" "So what?" And here is a very good one which I mentioned earlier — but you do not want to use it too often because it can be very annoying: "Why?" This question combines logic with authority.
Think of the good challenges people have popped on you, and how would you answer them now. Here is a common one: "Your religion is archaic and close minded and not open to change." Here is a response: "Does truth ever change?"
(From http://www.christianlogic.com/articles/logical_defense.htm - see previous post)
