D o e s God T H E Reason Importance of Logic Do Reason and Religion Mix? And.

D o

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Importance of

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Do Reason and Religion Mix?

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© Confident Christians – www.confidentchristians.org

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Why do we need Logic and Reason in Religion?


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Why do people believe what they believe?

Sociological

• Culture• Friends• Parents• Society

Psychological Religious

• Comfort• Hope• Identity/Meaning• Peace of Mind

• Church• Guru• Holy Book• Pastor

“People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive” – Blaise Pascal


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Sigmund Freud on why people believe religious ideas

“They are illusions, fulfillments of the oldest, strongest, and most urgent wishes of mankind. We call belief an illusion when a wish-fulfillment is a prominent factor

in its motivation, and in doing so we disregard its relation to reality, just as the illusion itself sets no store by verification” - Sigmund Freud

• They were believed by our primal ancestors • We possess proofs handed down from primeval times• Forbidden to raise questions of their authentication


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How do people know things?

• The Senses – seeing, feeling, etc.• The Memory – remembering what you have accepted as

truth• The Conscience (morality) – instinctive compass of

right/wrong• The Logical Thought Process – reason and rational

thinking


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How does one form a belief?

• A belief begins by understanding that a particular idea is plausible

• A plausibility structure – “favorable conditions” – form in the mind so that a belief can be entertained

• Anything not viewed as plausible will be rejected• Real belief must rest on content (not sincerity and

fervency of desire)


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Why should people believe what they believe?

“True religion and true philosophy must arrive at the same principle” - S. S. Smith

Philosophical Approach – To ascertain facts or truth and the causes of things.

Something is worth believing if it is…• Rational• Supported by evidence• The best reason for explaining the gathered data


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There is both good and bad philosophy

“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered ”

- C. S. Lewis

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends oh human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ [who is the truth]” - Paul, Colossians 2:8


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How most approach knowledge in religion

Mind Heart

Objective Proof Facts

Verifiable ScienceOpinion Faith Feeling

Subjective Religion


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How most should approach knowledge in religion

•Objective•Verifiable•Proof•Facts•Faith

“Facts have nothing to do with religion” – Immanuel Kant, Prussian Agnostic


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How can “faith” be objective?

Many people believe that faith is something you have in the absence of truth and evidence. “Faith” does not mean believing in something that just makes you feel good. The Greek word is “pistos”, which literally means “trust” – something/one in whom confidence can be placed; reliability; that which evokes trust; state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted; pertaining to being worthy of belief or trust; conviction of the truth; the character of one who can be relied on.

“Faith means not wanting to know what is true.” – Frederick Nietzsche, Atheist

There is a difference between Faith That and Faith In.


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Three tests for any belief system:

1. Logical Consistency: Are the claims being made consistent with each other or are there clear contradictions?

2. Empirical Adequacy: Is there evidence to back up the assertions being made by the belief system?

3. Experiential Relevance: Do the claims stack up with reality and are they meaningful for my life?

“Christ wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head” – C. S. Lewis


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What is Logic?

Logic is the study of right reason or valid inferences and the attending fallacies, formal and informal. It helps obtain correct conclusions about a matter and avoid mistakes people often make in thinking.

“It is the function of the wise man to know order” - Aristotle

“Come let us reason together…” – Isaiah 1:18

“You shall love the Lord your God with all … your mind” – Matt. 22:37


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Logic is built upon four foundational laws:

1. Law of non-contradiction – something cannot be “A” and “non-A” at the same time and in the same sense.

2. Law of the excluded middle – something is either “A” or “non-A”.

4. Law of rational inference – e.g. All men are mortal, John is a man, therefore John is mortal.

3. Law of identity – “A” is really “A”.


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Law of non-contradiction

Something cannot be “A” and “non-A” at the same time and in the same sense.

“God exists!” – Christian“God does not exist!” – Atheist

“You’re both right!” – Unitarian Universalist (Pluralism)

“If we believe by faith that God has spoken, since what God says is true, all that contradicts the word of God can, and must, be at once excluded as false.”

– Etienne Gilson


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Law of non-contradiction

Surest way to get a person to admit they believe in the law of non-contradiction:

“Let him who disbelieves be beaten and burned until he admits that to

be beaten and burned is not the same thing as to not be beaten and burned.”


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Law of excluded middle

“Everything came to be from a personal eternality!” – Christian“Everything came to be from an impersonal eternality” – Atheist

No third option

Something is either “A” or “non-A”.

…notice how this underscores truth’s attributes of being ‘narrow’ and ‘excludes’


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Law of Identity

“Jesus Christ is God!” – Christian“Jesus Christ is not God!” – Muslim

He is or He isn’t

“A” is really “A”.


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Law of Rational Inference

Everything that has a beginning has a cause.The universe had a beginning.

Therefore, the universe has a cause.

Deductive logic – reasoning from true premises to a correct conclusion.


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Recognizing Logical Fallacies

“Jesus is the Son of God” – Christian “Jesus is the Son of God” – Jehovah’s Witness/Mormon

Law of Identity

Significance – context means everything


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“Are you a person of science/facts or a person of religion/faith?”

Premises of deductive premise not true

Faulty Dilemma


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“Who made God?”

Category Mistake


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“Believing in God is like believing in Santa Claus.”

Faulty Analogy


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“The vast majority of scientists believe in evolution”

Consensus Gentium (majority opinion)


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“One day the missing link between man and his ancestors will be found”

Appeal to the future


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How does logic/reason relate to true belief?

Is belief just a matter of …

• Thinking logically?• Examining the evidence?• Recognizing reality?

…unfortunately not.


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Real belief involves more than just information transfer and the external recognition of a truth. People act contrary to evidence all the time.

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins…” – Hebrews 10:26

…notice the logic used in the above statement?


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Real belief involves the Will.

“If one were to prove this God of the Christians to us, we should be even less able to believe in him.” – Nietzsche

“It is our preference that rules against Christianity, not arguments.” – Nietzsche


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Real belief involves the Will.

“Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?” – Jesus in Mark 2:8

“When we lack the will to see things as they really are, there is nothing so mysterious as the obvious.” – Irving Kristol, Professor of Social Thought

“O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” – Jesus in Luke 24:25


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• A true philosophical foundation is best for believing something• The fact/value dichotomy must be recognized and torn down – truth

in religion is possible • Adherence to First Principles is mandatory in life and religion• Logical fallacies must be recognized and overcome • Pluralism and Panentheism as belief systems are ruled out• Real belief still involves more than an understanding of a logical

position

"So skilled is error at imitating truth, that the two are constantly being mistaken for each another. It takes a sharp eye these days to know which brother is Cain and which Abel." - A.W. Tozer

End Result of Agreeing that Logic/Reason and Religion Mix

D o

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Importance of

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Reason and Real Religion Stand Together

And

D o e s God T H E Reason Importance of Logic Do Reason and Religion Mix? And.

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