WORDS OF FAITH
“… nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine …”
1 Tim. 4:6
Central Church of Christ Naples, FL
August 21, 2011
Number 51
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Logic
Three Laws of Thought
Part 2
The Law of Contradiction
1. For things. The law of contradiction for things is: nothing can
both have and not have a given characteristic (or property) in precisely
the same respect (cf.: Ruby, p.267). For example, nothing can be black
all over and not-black all over at one and the same time.
2. For propositions. The law of contradiction for propositions is:
no proposition can be both true and false, in the same respects. It is false
to say that John is the son of Jim and that John is not the son of Jim, in
the same respects. If one affirms both the proposition, “All apples are
red,” and the proposition, “Some apples are not red,” then he has affirmed
a logical contradiction. Every logical contradiction is false. Further,
any logical contradiction implies any and every proposition. Since
this is the case, any so-called preacher of the Gospel who, in his preaching
and/or writing, affirms a logical contradiction, implies that there is no
God (and any other proposition one may think of) in so doing. To affirm
the proposition, “No men can be saved without being baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ,” and also affirm the proposition, “Some men can
be saved without being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,” is to affirm
a logical contradiction. When any man who loves truth sees that he has
done such, he will retract it. If he loves his own theory more than truth,
he will try to justify his holding on to that theory.
– From: Thomas B. Warren, Logic and the Bible, p. 23.
Logic
The Law of Rationality
The law of rationality says that men should draw only such conclusions
as are warranted by the evidence, or, as Lionel Ruby put it, “We ought to justify our conclusions by adequate evidence.” To say that evidence
is adequate is to say that it is relevant to and/or sufficient to warrant
the conclusion to which it is directed.
Although it is no doubt the case that all men are, at some time or
the other, irrational in their basic response to a given problem and/or situation,
every man ought to strive earnestly to be rational.
But what is it to be rational? To put the matter quite simply, to
be rational is to both recognize (understand) and honor (act in harmony
with) the law of rationality. This means that, as a matter of actual practice
in his life, one will draw only such conclusions as are warranted by the
evidence. When one functions in a rational manner he says, in effect, to
himself, “the conclusions which I draw must not outrun or be out of harmony
with the evidence which is relevant to the truth of the question
which I am considering at any given time.”
What is it to be irrational? Men such as those quoted in chapter one
[F. L. Lemley and Michael Hall, editor], who pride themselves on rejecting
the use of logic (valid) reasoning in connection with Bible study,
seem not to realize that they are acting irrationally. And what is it to be
irrational? To be irrational is (1) to reject the proper roles of evidence,
reason, and conclusion and (2) to hold that one can learn what God
would have men to do today strictly and only by reading the explicit
statements of the Bible without reasoning correctly about those explicit
statements so as to correctly infer what is implied by explicit statements
of the Bible. Some irrationalists also hold that faith (that is, Christian
faith) must involve the espousal of some “leap into the dark” beyond the
relevant evidence. Such a viewpoint is definitely contradictory of plain
Bible teaching (see 1 The. 5:21; Acts 17:11; et al.).
– From: Thomas B. Warren, Logic and the Bible, pp. 14-15.
Passages to Ponder
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking
heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought
thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid
in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O
LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments
of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as
much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect
unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not
forget thy word” (Psa. 119:9-16).