The Law of Noncontradiction

Relativism is something that is quite pervasive in our culture, almost to the point where many people assume that there are no absolutes at all. However what is interesting about that position is that it really makes little sense since saying there is no truth is an absolute in itself.

Relativism actually defies logic since it goes against the law of noncontradiction which states that "A cannot be A and non-A at the same time and in he same sense". Makes perfect sense right? It did to Aristotle who was the author of many logical principles.

In order to deny this law you would have to hold a book in your hand and deny that it was a book. Of course everyone would agree that this is complete nonsense, however, people argue this often without knowing it when they speak about relativism and other concepts when they want to avoid the only logical conclusion.

When this law is broken then debate ends. If the only way that someone can escape God is to deny logic then at this point he or she must be left to go about his or her way. Many times this is a method people often win arguments with because one is left to argue against the absurd, which is never reasonable.

Since relativism has been taught for so long people take it for granted these days. People actually believe that truth is indeed relative and that the Bible can contradict itself and still be inspired. This can then lead to Christians thinking that their faith is not logical and therefore can't be defended in the arena of ideas.

However there is nothing further from the actual truth.

Do people invent logic like Thomas Edison invented the light bulb? Of course not, they simply discover it. So who put logical thought in our minds? It makes sense that our creator put it there since the creator of such complex things like human beings would certainly not be irrational. Arguing that there is no creator is also very difficult from this standpoint since how could chaos give birth to logic? If a rational, intelligent creator created us then it would be logical to assume that his creation would also be rational. When the Bible says that God created man in his own image this is indeed logical. It would not be logical to think otherwise

The Bible does not contradict and is proven to follow this and other laws of logic. To say that there is no truth goes against rational thought even in the Bible. The example is given of Adam and Eve in the garden. God said if you eat the fruit of this one tree you will die. That was the truth of the matter. Satan then broke with truth and said that you could eat of the tree and not die. This violated logic because it could not be the truth and a non-truth at the same time. It was just as illogical then as arguing against truth is now, but when it is wrapped in a pretty box it can be appealing.

The Trinity must be a contradiction right? The trinitarian view says that God is three in one so you can't be three and one at the same time. This was the type of thinking that caused many problems in the early church and still causes Christians problems today. Human beings might not be able to grasp all aspects of how the Trinity of God is possible because we are not God, but we can definately defend it logically.

The Trinity is not a violation of the law of noncontradiction, but instead it is what is called a paradox. A Paradox is not a contradiction and therefore would not violate the law of noncontradiction. More simply put, I can' say that the shirt is green and not green at the same time which would be a contradiction. If I say that everyone is a liar, and I am everyone, then if I am telling the truth i am a liar, and if I am lieing then I am telling the truth. This would be a paradox because two different interpretations are possible and could be true. This is indeed what the Trinity represents. God is one in essense (A) and three in person (B). In order to contradict and violate the law I would need to say that God is one in person and three in person. It is hard to wrap our minds around how God is one in essence and three in person but not contradictory at all.

The Bible also does not contradict when it comes to the incarnation which is also something that is used to attack the validity of the Bible and therefore Christianity. If Jesus and God are one in essence and distinct in person then how could he come to earth in the flesh and become man? Well if you understand this correctly it is not contradictory because it does not say that Jesus is man (A) and not man (B), or that God is God (A) and not God (B). What the Bible and the early Church declared was that Jesus was both completely God and completely man which would be paradoxical because both would be completely true even though it would be difficult for us to understand completely how that could be.

There are many other instances of paradox in the Bible that are often mistaken for contradiction by people who don't know the difference. Mattew 10:39 says that whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. How could you lose your life and by extension of that not lose your life? This could be easily seen as a contradiction especially if you cherry picked the verse and used it out of context. However, if we understand the verse correctly we will see that the Gospel is telling us that in one sense if we lose our life here on earth then it is indeed lost so this is true, but at the same time you are gaining an eternal life with Jesus Christ which is also true. Since both ends of the statement end up true then it is not contradictory at all.

So God reveals himself to us in a very logical way, since he implanted logical thought in our brains. It is true that many choose not to use logical thought and are lost in confusion but this is not the fault of an almighty creator. This is the fault of sin that corrupted our nature from the very start. It would be incoherent for us to think that one would have to be irrational or illogical to believe in God and the truth of his word, or that God would speak in an irrational or contradictory manner towards us.

Don't let anyone tell you that truth is relative or that you must be irrational to believe in God. In fact, you must be somewhat irrational to deny the creator of the universe and believe that in some way chaos gave birth to rational and logical thought. One who believes that just might try and convince you that the keyboard in front of you is really a lizard.