In Matthew 7:24-26, Jesus gives us a parable of two men: one man hears the words of Jesus and heeds them. Jesus says he is a like a wise man who builds his house upon a rock and it is able to stand against the wind and floods. The other man is a foolish man who does not heed the teachings of Jesus. He is like a man who builds his house upon the sand. When the rains come and the winds blow, the house cannot stand because it is built on sand.
As Christians, we are commanded to always be ready to give an answer to those who ask about our faith (1 Peter 3:15). While we do this, we must keep in mind who we are dealing with – foolish people. We are dealing with people who have built a worldview upon sand and their arguments cannot stand up to scrutiny. Over the many years that I've engaged critics of the Bible, I've consistently found that nearly all of them resort to some logical fallacy in their arguments. It's unavoidable, really. When one's worldview begins with a premise that there is no God, he stands in stark contrast with reality. Every other belief he builds upon that faulty foundation is simply another brick he adds to the house he's built on sand. It won't stand.
The word translated as answer in 1 Peter 3:15 KJV is the Greek word “apologia” (ἀπολογία). This is where we derive the English term, apologetics. Like many Greek words, it's a compound word. “Apo” is a preposition of separation. It means away or from. We see it in the English word apostrophe, which is a mark that sets a letter apart from the rest of the word. “Logia” is derived from the Greek word “logos” which is usually translated as word. It's used in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the word....” When we talk about something like “the Word of God,” we're not referring to any single word but rather to everything God said. It's the entire body of thought. This is where we get the common suffix -ology as in biology or anthropology. From logos we also have the English word logic. Apologetics, therefore, literally means, “from words” or “from logic.” We are to give the critic a logical and reasonable defense of the Faith.
As we debate nonbelievers, we must always be careful of the arguments we are using and be alert to the arguments they are using. Remember that we have a house built on a rock while theirs is upon the sand. If we are not careful, we can get caught up in their foolish arguments and become removed from our strong foundation. Proverbs 26:4-5 warn us that we should not answer a fool by acting like a fool. Instead, we need to show him how foolish he is.
Studying formal logic is one of those things that intimidates a lot of people. Because of this, many people avoid it all together. It's really a shame, too, because the Bible says that we should love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Mark 12:30). Since we are commanded by God to give a reasonable defense of our faith, we owe it to Him to engage in a little mental exercise and study logic.
I don't know if I can say that God invented logic. God Himself is logical therefore logic has existed for as long as God has existed. Since nature reveals the glory of God, we see some of His logical nature revealed in His creation. Logic, is also absolute. It exists as certainly as anything exists. One cannot credibly argue that logic does not exist because he could not logically defend such a position. Any argument the critic could articulate must presuppose that logic exists. Therefore, any argument against logic only proves that logic is real!
Since God is logical, Christians have a rational basis to use and apply logic. However, an atheistic worldview has no rational reason to believe there should be uniform laws of logic. If the universe is without purpose, there is no reason to expect order or uniformity. Of course, this doesn't stop atheists from appealing to logic to defend their beliefs. Such a tactic is demonstrative of their irrationality. If atheists were consistent with their worldview, they would have no foundation on which to base a logical argument. Logic exists only because God is real yet they appeal to logic to argue that God doesn't exist! In his book, The Ultimate Proof of Creation, Dr. Jason Lisle uses the analogy of a man who argues against the existence of air. It is only because there is air moving past his vocal cords that he can form words. It is only because there is air to carry the sound waves that his argument can be heard. The more someone argues against air, the more he proves there is air. Yet this is what a fool does.
I thought it would be a good investment of time to do a short series on logical arguments and logical fallacies. Over the years, I've heard evolutionists and atheists use nearly every logical fallacy you could imagine. A Christian can hardly discuss anything with a critic without hearing some logical fallacy. Therefore, I have many real life comments that I can use for examples. I'm not sure how long this series will be but please check in often.
Further Reading
4 comments:
Logic and order do not require a purpose and their existence does not necessarily imply one. And if God is logical, by nature, then He no more created logic than He created Himself: the fundamental principles of thought must, on your own theological principles, exist eternally and uncreated. Indeed, God would require the "laws of logic" simply to continue being God, with a coherent, consistent nature, from one moment to the next.
So on your own principles, the principles of logic do not require a Creator. And it does not seem to me that they require a mind, or Mind, aware of them in order to exist; they can lurk undiscovered in the workings of nature -- in the very fact that there is a "nature" -- until someone gets around to discovering them.
Also, on a personal note, presuppositionalism has started to severely annoy me. I don't see the point in arguing that Christianity is the necessary foundation of science and reason if you're just going to jettison science and reason whenever you don't like the conclusions they lead to.
Steven J,
You said, “Logic and order do not require a purpose and their existence does not necessarily imply one.”
I have to laugh whenever I hear unbelievers talking about order without purpose. Do you sincerely believe order comes without design? That's incredible. It is by order that I can tell the difference between paint spilled on the floor and a pattern painted on the floor. Order always implies purpose.
You said, “And if God is logical, by nature, then He no more created logic than He created Himself: the fundamental principles of thought must, on your own theological principles, exist eternally and uncreated.”
I'm not sure how carefully you read my post. I did say that logic has existed as long as God has existed. His logical nature is revealed in His creation. Christians have a rational reason to believe there should be uniform laws of logic. You irrationally believe that order exists but does not require – nor even suggests – design.
You said, “Also, on a personal note, presuppositionalism has started to severely annoy me. I don't see the point in arguing that Christianity is the necessary foundation of science and reason if you're just going to jettison science and reason whenever you don't like the conclusions they lead to.”
I have never once jettisoned science and cannot imagine doing so. I believe you are engaging in the logical fallacy of “conflation” by suggesting that evolution and science are the same thing. Perhaps I'll include that in my series. Regardless, your annoyance is hardly a rebuttal to the simple fact that your worldview is irrational. I've written much about this topic though so I won't rehash it all now.
Thanks for visiting. God bless!
RKBentley
My comment is a year late, but I'm always amazed when atheists attempt to show that order exists without purpose. That is to assume that the universe has an intelligence of its own...nature is truly the god of the material atheist. What a bleak and cruel universe it was that must have created us from randomness, just so that life could evolve to the point where we would be finally conscious of the truth that we are meaningless beings in a meaningless universe. So much faith is required for this irrational explanation of what we see around us, but the atheist will not admit that.
Also, Steven J., materialists are not immune from presupposing their conclusions as well. You are not able to prove the non-existence of a higher power, so you must assume the non-existence of anything outside the material universe...unless there is a need to add the ad hoc multiverse, of course.
Todd,
Thanks for visiting and for your comments. Please don't let it concern you about commenting on a post that's already a year old. Many of the visitors to my blog each day are reading older posts. You might have noticed that this particular post was among the 10 most visited in the past week so there are still plenty of people who will read this.
It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who sees the blatant contradiction of a secular worldview. On the one hand. Evolutionists tell me they insist on evidence for everything but on the other hand, they base their entire brand on science on philosophical assumptions that cannot boast even one shred of evidence. I'm not a psychiatrist but I'm sure this must qualify as some type of disorder.
Please keep visiting and commenting!!
God bless!!
RKBentley
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