Biblical Logic:

Boot Camp to do battle with your adversary.

 

“Defending the Christian faith is not difficult once we learn how to do it properly.  Most of it comes down to good, clear, logical thinking.”  Jason Lisle – Answer in Genesis

 

Goals

Learn the essential of Christian Doctrine.

Learn the process to understanding Logic

Know that God created Logic and Reason.

Understand the importance of morality, logic, and uniformity.

Why not believing is Christ is illogical.

That nonbelievers steal from Christianity for everyday beliefs.

Learn how to have a logical discussion with a nonbeliever

Identify logical fallacies

Learn how to keep the conversation on track

 

Why Learn logic?

          Have Discussion

 

          After discussion show video clip

 

What is Logic?

In philosophy, Logic (from the Greek λογική logikē) is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning.

• A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed.
• Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true.
• Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs.

 

 

History of Logic

Plato's logic

•None of the surviving works of the great fourth-century philosopher Plato (428–347 B.C) include any formal logic, but they include important contributions to the field of philosophical logic. Plato raises three questions:

•What is it that can properly be called true or false?

•What is the nature of the connection between the assumptions of a valid argument and its conclusion?

•What is the nature of definition?

 

 

Part 2

Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath ( "having learned much"), a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects; Aristolianism had a profound influence on philosophical and theological thinking in the Islamic and Jewish traditions in the Middle Ages, and it continues to influence Christian theology. 

 

 

Every Man an Answer:

Mathew 28:19

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

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.

 

Q: Why do you believe as Christ as your savior?

 

Colossians 4:5-6

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

 

Titus 1:9

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

 

 

Who is our adversary?

James 4:4

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God

 

Philippians 3:18

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

What is Logic?

 

1 John 2:15-19

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Warning Against Antichrists

 18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

 

Revelation 13

 

John 8:42-47

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

 

 

What came first, the Chicken or the egg?

The Chicken!!!

Genesis 1:24-25

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

 

The egg – is logic!!!  This is God letting us see his way of thinking.

 

The Chicken – is God’s essential doctrine.   With out this, we are illogical.  We will learn why later.

Essential of Christianity

 

What does the essentials mean?

Main Entry: 2essential

1 : something basic <the essentials of astronomy> 2 : something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable

 

What makes up essential doctrine?

There is no real explanation

Archie’s Logic

          Prophesy from OT that describes Jesus personhood.

          Salvation specific doctrine

 

Why identify essentials:

 

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.

 

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.  (Rev 16:13, 1 John 4:1, 2 Peter 2:1)

 

Luke 21:8 He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am he,' and, `The time is near.' Do not follow them.  (Mathew 24:4-5, Mark 13:6, 13:22)

 

 

Authority of scripture

2 Timothy 3:16-17

 

2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed m  and is useful for teaching, n  rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, o   

2Ti 3:17 so that the man of God p  may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.   

 

2 Peter 1:16-21 – inspired.  

 

2Pe 1:16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, g  but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. h   

2Pe 1:17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” i   

2Pe 1:18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. j  

2Pe 1:19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, k  and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light l  shining in a dark place, until the day dawns m  and the morning star n  rises in your hearts. o   

2Pe 1:20 Above all, you must understand p  that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 

2Pe 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God q  as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

Apostles Creed – One of the first attempts to clarify essentials.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,  creator of heaven and earth. 

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,  who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,  suffered under Pontius Pilate,  was crucified, died, and was buried;  he descended to the dead.  On the third day he rose again;  he ascended into heaven,  he is seated at the right hand of the Father,  and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit,  the holy Catholic Church,  the communion of saints,  the forgiveness of sins,  the resurrection of the body,  and the life everlasting. AMEN.

 

The Essentials:

The essential doctrines of the Christian faith that emerge from this historical approach are those contained in the Apostles Creed and unfolded in subsequent creeds of the first five centuries. These include:

(1) human depravity (sin nature)

(2) Christ’s  virgin birth

(3) Christ’s  sinlessness

(4) Christ’s  deity

(5) Christ’s  humanity

(6) God’s  unity

(7) God’s  triunity

(8) the necessity of Gods  grace

(9) the necessity of faith

(10)   Christ’s  atoning death

(11)   Christ’s  bodily resurrection

(12)   Christ’s  bodily ascension

(13)   Christ’s  present High Priestly service

(14)   14) Christ’s  second coming, final judgment, and reign. Heaven and hell                 are implied in the final judgment and are explicated in later creeds.

It is not necessary, however, to believe all of these to be saved (justified). The minimum necessary to believe in order to be saved is: (1) human depravity, (3) Christ’s sinlessness, (4) Christ’s deity, (5) Christ’s humanity, (6) God’s unity, (7) God’s triunity, (8) the necessity of God’s grace, (9) the necessity of faith, (10) Christ’s atoning death, and (11) Christ’s bodily resurrection.

 

Basic Principles of God 

 

• God is a God of order, clarity, design, and purpose.

 

• Evolution (non-belief) is full of chaos, confusion, randomness, and meaningless.

 

• You will see this in the Logic process.
• There is no known law of nature, process, and no known sequence of events that can cause information to originate by it self.

 

 

 

 

Our Earthly Battle is with

•Nonbelievers – believe in nothing

•Apostate Believers – they have a reason not to believe.

•Liberal Believer

•Cult or Occult believers

 

 

Liberal Christian or Cult examples

 

nUnited Church of Christ

nMormon

nJehovah Witness

nUnited Pentecostal Church

nMetropolitan Community Church

nPresbyterian Church, USA

nEvangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA)

nEpiscopal/Anglican Church

nUnited Methodist

 

 

 

 

Discussion with these groups

 

Use Logic tools

Who is Jesus?

Who is your authority?

How are you saved?

 

 

Top 10 world religions

1. Christianity                   2.1 Billion
2. Islam                             1.5 Billion
3. Hinduism                      851 Million
4. Buddhism           375 Million
5. Sikhism                         25 Million
6. Judaism                        15 Million
7. Baha’ism                      7.5 Million
8. Confucianism               6.4 Million
9. Janism                          4.5 Million
10. Shintoism            2.8 Million
11. Nonbeliever/Agnostic/Atheist        1.1 Billion

 

Islam

Fasts growing religion

There are 2 major sects of Islam - the Sunnis make up 80- 90% of the Muslim population and the Shiites comprise the rest.

A true Muslim must accept 5 main articles of faith.

lst Article : Belief in Allah as the one true God.

2nd Article : Belief in angels as instruments of God's will. Mohammed allegedly received his revelation from the angel Gabriel

3rd Article : Belief in the 4 inspired books - the Torah (5 books of Moses), the Zabur (the psalms), the lnjil (the gospel), and the final revelation, the Koran. Muslims claim that the Koran has been kept perfectly unlike the Christian Bible. While they claim to respect the Bible, they also believe that it has been corrupted. The Muslims make incredible claims about their writings and will always compare our Bible to the Koran for testing the truth. However, many of their claims cannot be substantiated and scholars have decidedly proven them untrue.

4th Article : Belief in the 28 prophets of Allah, Mohammed being the last and the greatest.

5th Article : Belief in a final Day of Judgment.

So, if one wants to become a Muslim they need to say the shahada, bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet. The Islamic believer must perform good works which will be weighed at the end of their life. If Allah is graceful and merciful, the Muslim will enter Heaven. However, the Koran teaches that Allah is arbitrary in passing out his mercy, and no one has any guarantee of making it. The only sure way to make it to Heaven is if the Muslim dies in a Jihad. Only then will they go directly to Heaven. This is their only assurance for salvation. This explains why so many Muslims willingly give their lives in terroristic acts for their cause.

There are also 5 obligations that are required for a Muslim - to pray, fast, give alms (“shakat” - 2.5% of their income), recite the Shahada while praying, and to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (the “Hodge”) at least once in their lifetime. As they pray, they must face towards Mecca and bow their faces to the ground. 

          They do not believe that Christ died on the cross.

 

Hinduism

1. Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Be ing who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
2. Hindus believe in the divinity of the four Vedas, the world's most ancient scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed.
3. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.
4. Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.
5. Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny.
6. Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments and personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and Gods.
7. Hindus believe that an enlightened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry, meditation and surrender in God.
8. Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, noninjury, in thought, word and deed.
9. Hindus believe that no religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine paths are facets of God's Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.

 

Buddhism

Generally Buddhism does not believe in a personal God or a divine being, it does not have worship, praying to, or praising of a divine being (although some sects do.) It offers no form of redemption, forgiveness, no heavenly hope, or a final judgment to those practicing its system. Buddhism is a moral philosophy, an ethical way to live for the here and now of this world to gain the ultimate state. It has more in common with humanism and atheism than its original religion Hinduism it separated from. But Buddhism is not atheism just because they don’t believe in a personal God. It is more like pantheism, there is a impersonal force the void which is the ultimate. This is one of the hardest religions to reach and understand, since Buddhism can be cultural, it is a lifestyle of many generations as well as a spiritual practice.  Nirvana = nothingness.

          Japan is 1% Christian.

 

Sikhism

Sikhism emerged in 16th-century India in an environment heavily permeated with conflicts between the Hindu and Muslim religions. Its founding teacher, Guru Nanak Dev, was born in 1469 to a Hindu family. His most famous saying was, "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim, so whose path shall I follow? I shall follow the path of God." Today, there are about 23 million Sikhs worldwide, making Sikhism the fifth largest religion in the world. Follow a link below to learn more

 

Retaining the Hindu doctrine of the transmigration of souls, together with its corollary, the law of karma, Guru Nanak advised his followers to end the cycle of reincarnation by living a disciplined life – that is, by moderating egoism and sensuous delights, to live in a balanced worldly manner, and by accepting ultimate reality. Thus, by the grace of Guru (Gurprasad) the cycle of reincarnation can be broken, and the Sikh can remain in the abode of the Love of God. Guru Nanak taught that salvation does not mean entering paradise after a last judgment, but a union and absorption into God, the True Name. Sikhs do not believe in a heaven or hell. Sikhs also reject the Hindu belief in incarnations (avatars) of God, believing instead that God makes his will know through the Gurus.

 

Before we get back to Logic a little story.

The wife and I had a great time at the concert last night. We saw Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman, two popular Christian singers along with Louie Giglio who gave a short sermon midway through the concert. The Concert was unbelievable and lasted over 3 hours. After a life in which I have seen everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Elton John to Def Lepard in concert, this was my first ever Christian concert. It was probably the best concert I have ever seen in person. The speaker, Louie Giglio, was also mind-blowing. His talk centered on our place in the universe and just how small we are in the grand scheme of things. I am a Christian, but I am the worst type. I don't go to Church nearly enough, I barely read my Bible, I pray only when I need something, and I do not go out of my way to tell anyone about my Christian beliefs. I do not want to lecture to anyone on my blog about most Christian subjects because I believe that each person has their own spiritual beliefs and customs and it is not my business to lecture them as to whether they are right or wrong when it comes to God.

 

Back to Logic

God is a God of order, clarity, design, and purpose; evolution is full of chaos, confusion, randomness, and meaningless.

 

There is no known law of nature, process, and no known sequence of events that can cause information to originate by it self.

 

 

Worldview

 

Worldview; a network of our most basic beliefs about reality in light of which all observations are interpreted.

Christians and atheist interpret the same evidence differently.

A good worldview must be logically consistent.

 

 

Rational worldview

A rational worldview must provide the precondition ( A condition that must exist or be established before something can occur) or be considered of intelligibility (capable of being understood or comprehended)

 

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

 

 

Preconditions of intelligibility

 

We will look at three preconditions ( A condition that must exist or be established before something can occur) of intelligibility;

laws of logic

uniformity of nature

and morality.

 

The pretend neutral fallacy

 

 

Mathew 12:30 

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

Romans 8:7

The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

 

Uniformity of nature Evolution is contrary to the uniformity of nature

Evolution is ever changing

Scientific practice disproves evolution, since science is unchanging.  Through experiments we can have reliability and validity – opposite of the evolutionary process. 

 

 

Uniformity of nature 2

Evolutionary science takes for granted that the universe can be quantified (to limit by a quantifier (2) : to bind by prefixing a quantifier - a prefixed operator that binds the variables in a logical formula by specifying their quantity); that the universe obeys mathematical laws that are consistent over time and space, and can be comprehended.

 

Uniformity of nature 3

 

Gen 8:22 - “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

We have uniformity of nature.

When we use past experience as a basis for what is likely to happen in the future, we are assuming uniformity.