I’ve been in a funk this year.
I’d lost my incentive to write and to discuss the reasons for the hope that I have.
The very hope itself seemed to be under siege.
It was under siege!
By the tyranny of illogic.
You see, the worldview of non-Christians is easy for me to understand, because that’s where I came from. I’m generally privy to the errors in their logic because those errors were once mine. It’s relatively easy for me to spot and avoid the inevitable cracks of illogic in the foundation of that worldview.
Christianity is another matter.
I am sometimes willing to listen to other Christians without adequate discernment.
I let down my guard. Even though I should know better.
When a Christian I respect and trust provides a new analysis of their worldview, our worldview, I sometimes suspend all doubt.
Because I care about that person and their opinions I want to have an open mind to their intellectual constructs.
But an open mind is one that is willing to follow the evidence where it leads, not one that suspends rationality.
Yet, I often make the mistake of allowing their argument to remove the cornerstone of my own foundation (and that of any properly constructed foundation).
Logic.
I would never allow that from someone on the other side.
And I should never allow it from someone on this side either.
In fact it was a logical argument that brought me to this side!
How do we know anyone’s conclusions are right?
All truth claims, philosophical, scientific, mathematical, secular and Christian, must be the result of a logically constructed argument.
So the next time I don’t see the logic in someone’s conclusions I owe it to myself to stand firm to the dictates of logic. If not, I open myself to the ultimate oppression.
The tyranny of illogic.
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Ravi Zacharias clearly articulates the indispensability of logic in his book “The Real Face of Atheism”.
“With all of our resistance to it, however, one unavoidably must use it to test truth claims; moreover it is impossible to attack logic without using logic. For, truth has a direct bearing on reality, and the laws of logic do apply in every sphere of our lives.”
“Since the laws of logic apply to reality, it is imperative that these laws be understood if any argument is to stand its ground. This can be a vast subject in itself, but the foundational laws are indispensable to the communication of truth.”
Dr. Zacharias goes on to quote Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, from his book Three Philophies of Life.
“Three things must go right with any argument:
(1) The terms must be unambiguous
(2) The premises must be true
(3) The argument must be logical.”
I am reminded of something I heard from J. John in an interview with Metaxas. He said that it is not illogical, it is EXTRA-logical. If we could fully comprehend God and put him in our tiny minds and flesh him out with our intellects, how great would God actually be?
When miracles of God happen, there is a mystery that happens. We who are spiritual know what happened and glory in it, but they who are not just are baffled and cannot understand it or contemplate what happened and eventually move on.
I am also reminded of 1 Corinthians 1 about how God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.
Then remember how God changes our intellect. Remember Peter and other “unlearned” men who became wise, astounding the pharisees?
Consider this:
*[[Psa 19:7]] KJV*
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
God will accept you no matter how smart you are or arent. He wants a relationship, not only a top-notch philosopher.
He renews our minds with the word and his Spirit! Yes, every credible historian knows that Jesus existed. The Kalam cosmological argument is strong. Whatever barriers that need to be broken down for the Father’s calling process will be done. Then we are born again and then all the things of God make sense all of a sudden! We are able to understand spiritual things we before could not by any means understand. The wisdom of this world is different than the wisdom of God.
The way I see it Richard, God’s wisdom may be outside our understanding, but it is never illogical. We may be unable to always see His logic, but that’s because He is omniscient and we aren’t. A child may not see the logic of a parent grabbing their arm an instant before they dash after the ball that bounced across a busy street, yet the parent clearly made a logical decision that saved the life of that child even if he couldn’t see it.
Absolutely. It is not illogical, it is extra-logical. In science’s attempt to shut the door on God, it reminds me of a child running into their room, locking the door to not let their Father in. But he will get in and it wont be pretty. I do agree that all the evidence leads to God alone, but so few use the evidence honestly. There’s still a barrier.
Check out this quote:
In his book The Last Word, Thomas Nagel, an atheist professor of philosophy and law at New York University School of Law, defended philosophical rationalism against subjectivism. At one point he admits that rationalism has theistic implications—implications he does not like. He suggests that subjectivism is due in part to a fear of religion, citing his own fear as a case in point:
“I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that. … My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not a rare condition and that it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of our time. One of the tendencies it supports is the ludicrous overuse of evolutionary biology to explain everything about life, including everything about the human mind. Darwin enabled modern secular culture to heave a great collective sigh of relief, by apparently providing a way to eliminate purpose, meaning, and design as fundamental features of the world.”
Nagel’s admission is consistent with the Christian claim that those who reject the existence of God do not do so wholly for intellectual reasons—the will plays a vital role as well.
From the vineyard metaphors that are in the bible, let me use another. If the vineyard manager decides to stop watering the vines, they will surely dislike that, but without the stressors the fruit would just be verbacious. When things happen we don’t always see what the Lord is doing from it until afterwards usually.
Scientists may attempt to shut the door on God, but Science itself doesn’t attempt to shut the door on God.
Science is the study of God’s General Revelation: Creation. If one studies God’s creation with intellectual honesty & is willing to follow the evidence where it leads then that study always points to Him.
There is intellectual resistance -controlled by the will, as you point out.
There is an emotional resistance, also controlled by the will.
And not all rejection of God is done by those who study God’s General Revelation.
The corridors of history is littered with theologians that studied God’s Special Revelation, the Bible,that also ended up rejecting the Bible.
Amen! Scientists use their credentials and sphere of influence to express their beliefs, which usually are illogically anti-christian. They speak about theism and christianity, but it is not their area of expertise, but because they are a scientist (modern-day priests), everyone will accept whatever they say. When scientists express what they believe, it does not automatically make it infallible science.
And let’s not forget how many Christian scientists, artists and musicians knew the Creator of all things was a personal God. We worship the same God that Bach, Handel, Haydn, Brahms, Schubert, Liszt, Mozart, Newton and Michelangelo worshipped. The exact same God. Know a tree by its fruits, not the validity of a worldview based on popularity.
This culture of atheism is not a revelation of reason and philosophy. It is a digression in fact because it is basically a cultural fad.
Please read these quotes!
http://www.christianheritageedinburgh.org.uk/content/spiritual-lives-great-composers
To me, sometimes there is no logic or reason to our existence or purpose here. I’m very sure I will leave here with many unanswered questions. I only hope my purpose here meant something
HI Kathy!
You’re right that sometimes there seems to be no logic or reason to our existence.
It can be especially difficult to see the logic when bad things happen in our lives.
But don’t you think that is because of the unanswered questions?
So we continually search for answers necessary to better see the logic of our existence.
Because the more we know, the better we can put together an understanding of the world around us.
Yet the more we know the more questions we have!
Won’t there always be unanswered questions?
Because what is knowable is infinite, and we are not.
I may not know why something happens in my life, but I do know for a certainty why I don’t know: God is infinite and I am finite.
You can be sure The Creator of the cosmos had a purpose for you before He laid the foundation of Creation itself.
And His plans are perfect.
You are not an accident. Your life has purpose. You were created for a reason.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV)