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Laws of Logic and Our Awareness of God

Laws of Logic and Our Awareness of God

Sye Ten Bruggencate and other presuppositional apologists are right in claiming that the laws of logic (the laws of logic refers to things the law of non-contradiction, law of identity, etc.) are immaterial, universal, and unchanging. We use logic all the time and assume it is trustworthy and true, and that it leads us into truth and coherence about reality. From simple things like ‘my friend in another state so he cannot join me for dinner tonight,’ to ‘if I add too much sugar to my coffee it will not be a pleasant experience,’ to ‘If I leave the water running on my tap with the drain plugged I will have a huge mess’ we see that we use logic all the time.

But where do these laws of logic come from? If naturalism (the atheistic worldview that says there is no such thing as God or the supernatural and all that there is can only be matter, time, and energy) were true, how could laws of logic possibly come into existence? What could have possibly produced immaterial, unchanging, universal laws of logic? How could an impersonal, chance universe, that was not created by an infinite, eternal, wise, personal being, but merely by immaterial forces and chance/accident ever have produced laws of logic?

Some say that laws of logic do not actually exist, they are merely social constructs that we make to help us make sense of the world. That is, we just created an understanding of logic but in reality there is no such thing as laws of logic. The problem with arguing this way is that in order to make such an argument one has to employ logic as though it more than merely a man-made social construct. Because if logic were merely a man-made social construct, then it could change depending on time and personal preference. But in order to claim laws of logic are merely a social construct, you have to assume that the logic you used to make such a claim works, and that it won’t change, that it will remain logically coherent. In other words, you are using logic as though it exists (and is not merely a man-made construct), is unchanging (it won’t change because my man-made construct or someone’s construct changes), and that it is universally applicable and present. This shows that one does not actually live as though logic were merely a man-made social construct, but as though it is universal, immaterial, and unchanging.

Only the Christian worldview can account for logic, as logic is a reflection of God’s mind, who is logical and rationale and the source of logic and reasoning. Laws of logic really do exist and are not merely inventions of human beings. In reality, we live in God’s world, a world of that reflects his logical, rational thinking and by submitting ourselves and imitating Him we are led into truth and logical coherence. It is folly to claim to laws of logic are merely social constructs.

By Tom Schmidt

Christian, husband of Rach, Church Planter,musician,

2 replies on “Laws of Logic and Our Awareness of God”

Well put! The one criteria I add to the laws of logic, which I haven’t seen anyone else add (though I’m most probably not the first EVER) is that they are knowable. This corresponds to the attribute of God being self-revealing–He is knowable. I haven’t done enough work on this concept yet, but it seems to me like this would be an easy segue to talking about Jesus in a Hebrews 1:1-2 kind of way. Thoughts?

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