Logic & Apologetics I. Why Logic Matters in Christianity II. The Basic Kind of Arguments I....
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Logic & Apologetics Introduction to Logical Reasoning
Logic & Apologetics I. Why Logic Matters in Christianity II. The Basic Kind of Arguments I. Abductive II. Inductive III. Deductive III. Informal Logical
I. Why Logic Matters in Christianity II. The Basic Kind of
Arguments I. Abductive II. Inductive III. Deductive III. Informal
Logical Fallacies Game!
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Logic Ordered thinking Logic is the study of right reasons or
valid inferences and the attending fallacies, formal and informal.
Genesis 1 God makes order out of chaos John 1 Logos is the
order/logic/wisdom/reason of God
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Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews
living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. Acts 9:22
As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three
Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures Acts 17:2 So
he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks,
as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to
be there. Acts 17:17 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue,
trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. Acts 18:4 For he vigorously
refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the
Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. Acts 18:28
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But I have had Gods help to this very day, and so I stand here
and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond
what the prophets and Moses said would happenthat the Christ would
suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim
light to his own people and to the Gentiles. At this point Festus
interrupted Pauls defense. You are out of your mind, Paul! he
shouted. Your great learning is driving you insane. I am not
insane, most excellent Festus, Paul replied. What I am saying is
true and reasonable. - Acts 26:22-25
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Apologetics The presentation of rational (reasonable) bases for
the validity and defense of Christian beliefs. 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 I
Peter 3:15
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Understanding logic and reasoning makes us more effective in
our interactions, dialogues and presentation of the Christian
faith. No more canned answers!
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The building blocks of logical thought and reasoning: Argument:
a collection of related propositions resulting in a conclusion
Proposition: a declarative statement that affirms or denies
something Premise: a proposition that sets forth a reason to draw a
conclusion Conclusion: a proposition derived from the inferences of
its premises
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Definition: Inference to the best explanation Example: The
fist-fight In theology and apologetics: Coming to faith based on
experiences and observations
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In life we encounter the following: Origins of universe Origins
of life Mind, consciousness, personality Morality, ethics,
conscience, justice Love and relationship Beauty and aesthetics
Scripture testimony Anthropology of religious belief
Miraculous/supernatural phenomenon Natural law and science Logic
and reasoning Religious conversion and transformation As separate
self-contained observations, these things are peculiar and/or
difficult to explain. But if God actually exists, then it follows
as a matter of course that these things make sense together.
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Definition: arriving at a certain conclusion based on the
stated premises Example: mathematics In theology and apologetics:
God-friendly arguments The Cosmological Argument The Moral
Argument
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1. Everything that begins has a cause. 2. The universe has a
beginning 3. Therefore, the universe has a cause. Analyze what
properties the cause must have and assess its theological
significance. God provides the most reasonable explanation as this
cause.
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Premise 1 Everything that begins has a cause. Has merit both
philosophically and experientially Past events cannot regress
infinitely Cause-effect dynamic is experienced generally in
life
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Premise 2 The universe has a beginning. Prevailing scientific
theory for the origin of the universe is Big Bang Theory 13.7 bill
years ago the universe exploded into existence generating all
matter and energy Expansion of universe and presence of background
radiation
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Therefore the universe has a cause. Cause must be: Timeless,
constant and immaterial Agent acting freely without constraint An
idea-generator with personal dimension - like a mind Gods
characteristics best fit description of the cause
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1. If God does not exist, then objective moral values and
duties do not exist. 2. Objective morals and duties do exist. 3.
Therefore, God exists.
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Premise 1 If God does not exist, then objective morals and
duties do not exist. Without God, moral values are illusory,
relative and come from some naturalistic source (such as
evolution). A duty to act in a moral way requires accountability,
and naturalistic explanations for morality do not carry a sense of
ultimate duty because there is no ultimate accountability. EG. You
could recognize the good or bad way to act, but there is nothing
compelling a choice to act good.
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Premise 2 Objective morals and duties do exist. Universal
presence of good/bad values and right/wrong behaviors infer an
objective source of morality EG - Is it always wrong to torture and
kill a baby for ones own pleasure? Popular alternative position is
social conditioning, but this does not undermine the truth of
whether objective morals and duties actually exist, it only speaks
to how we may discover or understand them. (Like in physical
world). Self-defeating logic of relativism
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Therefore, God exists. Ironically, people generally believe
both premises, though many may attempt to fight the necessary
conclusion!
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Definition: compiling evidence that implies a probable
conclusion Example: lawyer making a case In theology and
apologetics: Peters Sermon in Acts 2, Making the case for the
Christ
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Gathering and synthesizing evidence/reasons that funnel toward
a probable conclusion. Conclusion Evidence 3 Evidence 2 Evidence
1
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Example of Peters Sermon in Acts 2 Evidence 1: Jesus performed
signs and miracles publicly. (Acts 2:22) Evidence 2: God raised
Jesus from the dead in accordance with the Scriptures. (Acts 2:24)
Evidence 3: Jesus ascended to heaven to be glorified in accordance
with the Scriptures. (Acts 2:34) Conclusion: Therefore, let all
Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36)
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Jesus is Lord and Christ! Acts 2:33-35 Acts 2:23-32 Acts
2:22
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Have to do with truthfulness of the argument/statement. Does
the content meaningfully and properly relate to the issue at hand?
The 2 most common ways to commit an informal fallacy is by
confusion or irrelevance. Confusion the flow of thinking is
mixed-up and out- of-order Irrelevance the flow of thinking leads
to a point outside of the issue being discussed
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You are a person of faith; I, on the other hand, am a person of
science and reason.
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I read that most of the members of the National Academy of
Sciences are atheists, so I dont take religion very seriously.
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If you study church history, you see a long tradition of
violence towards dissenters, suppression of scientific truth,
political corruption, wars and bloodshed. Clearly, the church is
anything but a moral influence for good.
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Centuries before Christ, the Egyptian god Osiris was said to
have died and then risen from the dead. The Jesus account is
another mythical manifestation of this same earlier story.
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Saying God created the universe is not a truly satisfying
explanation of origins, because then you have to ask the question
Who created God?
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I cant believe that God would allow people to suffer, burn, and
experience pain in a place like hell. If youve ever experienced a
moment of torture you know how horrible it is; then how could you
could ever sustain torture in a place with no hope! The suffering
we see in the world starvation of children, genocide, war - is
nothing compared to the idea of hell. How could God do such a
thing?
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The Bible is just a bunch of fantasy stories featuring
characters like a talking snake, zombies rising from the dead and
magic taking place. Wed never take such account seriously in a
modern setting, and would likely think the authors had been doing
drugs when they wrote these things.
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The Bible cannot seriously be considered a relevant document as
it came from a culture where slavery was legal, women lacked rights
and simple modern conventions like electricity would have been
considered miraculous.
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I dont think the Ressurection accounts of the NT are serious
historical events. Christian scholars and historians who argue that
the Resurrection was an historical event from God do so to justify
their livelihood and get naive people to buy their books.
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When I read about the pastor of a mega-church who was recently
indicted on charges of fraud and embezzlement, it reminded me that
churches are money-making operations.
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Since faith is unjustified and irrational belief. Arguments
that claim to present reasonable bases to believe in God fall
short, because God is a faith-claim which cannot be justified
rationally.
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Religion has been used to justify horrible things.
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Speaker 1: The gospel of Mark, which is accepted by scholars as
the earliest of the gospels written in the generation of
eyewitnesses, provides an early source for an eyewitness account of
Jesus empty tomb, and adds credibility to the historical claims of
the Resurrection. Speaker 2: Details of the resurrection account
described in Mark differ from some of the details in the other
later gospels. Do you accept Luke, Matthew and John as credible
accounts as well? How do you reconcile the differences between the
accounts?
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As a scientist, I determine what is true based on proof.
Therefore, I cannot accept that God exists unless I can see the
proof of such a claim.