By: Brian G. Chilton, M.Div., Ph.D. | March 3, 2024
One of my students wrote about an interesting topic. It concerned the relationship between God and logic. The student’s discussion caused me to think more deeply on the topic of God and logic. Logic is understood to be the “methods of valid thinking.”[1] Logic is the basis for all reasonable thought.[2] Since truth is absolute and understood to be transcendent from the human experience,[3] then we must ask how truth relates to God’s nature.
Is God the source of logic or do logical truths direct God’s actions. In some ways, this topic is to reason what the Euthyphro Dilemma is to ethics. Four questions came to mind as I thought about this topic: Did God create logic? Is God confined by logic? Is God logical? And can we understand anything about God by logic and reason?
Did God create logic?
The NT, God, and logic
God is understood to be the Source of all things. The creed in the book of Colossians notes that “by [God] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16–17, NASB). In the epilogue to John’s Gospel, the aged apostle notes that Jesus is the Word—the Logos of God—and by this Logos “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it” (Jn. 1:3–5, NASB).
Aquinas, God, and logic
If God is the Source of all things, then logic must have been created by God. However, as God’s goodness, logic may not be something that was created, but rather, it may be a quality that flows from the very Being of God. Aquinas argued that truth is found in the intellect, and the most perfect intellect is found in God.
Aquinas writes, “truth is found in the intellect according as it apprehends a thing as it is; and in things according as they have being conformable to an intellect. This is to the greatest degree found in God. For His being is not only conformed to His intellect, but it is the very act of His intellect; and His act of understanding is the measure and cause of every other being and of every other intellect, and He Himself is His own existence and act of understanding. Whence it follows not only that truth is in Him, but that He is truth itself, and the sovereign and first truth.”[4]
It appears that Aquinas’s proposition coheres with the truths of Scripture. Truth, like goodness and love, emanates from the very Being of God. Thus, logic and reasoning are only possible because of the Being of God. Apart from the existence of God, logic and reasoning would be impossible.
Is God confined by logic?
Seeing that God transcends all things, it would appear that God is not confined by logic. However, the Bible tells us that God is limited by God’s own nature. For instance, Paul asserts that it is impossible for God to lie, seeing that God is truth and the epitome of faithfulness. Paul writes, “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago” (Titus 1:2, NASB).
Just as it is impossible for God to do what is evil due to His existence as the absolute good (Jms. 1:13; 1 Jn. 1:5), likewise, it is impossible for God to lie and do what is logically impossible (e.g., creating a squared triangle or cause 2+2 to equal 100 without adding 96 additional integers) because of God’s truthful nature. Therefore, God is not confined by logic as if logic is an external thing. Rather, God is only confined by His own nature and Being as He has existed from all eternity. God is inseparable from His eternal attributes.[5]
Is God logical?
As was noted in the previous question, God is the Source of logic as logic emanates and flows from God’s Being and nature. As such, God is logical and reasonable. Logic and intellectual reasoning is a communicable attribute of God that is shared with humanity.[6] Although, we admittedly acknowledge that some use this shared attribute more than others. Nonetheless, the ways and thoughts of God are far greater than anything than the human mind could fully comprehend.
Can we understand anything about God by logic?
Absolutely! However, what we can know about God is limited by the limitations of the human mind. By the human mind alone, we can deduce that God must necessarily exist because of the created world. Paul acknowledged that God’s “invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world” (Rom. 1:20, CSB). However, the deeper truths of God can only be taken by faith—that is, trust in what God has revealed about Himself.
Conclusion
God is logical and works within the parameters of logic. But this does not imply that God is restrained by logic, as if logic is something that is an immaterial reality restraining God. Rather, logic flows out of God’s truthful nature. Just as the answer to the Euthyphro Dilemma is found in God’s moral righteousness, so God’s coherence with logic is founded in God’s faithfulness, omniscience (all-knowledge), and omnisapience (all-wisdom). As human beings, our ability to reason is a gift of God. If it were not for God, then we could not only not know God, we could not know anything at all.
About the author
Brian G. Chilton, M.Div., Ph.D.: Founder of Bellator Christi Ministries, President, Publisher, Contributor, and Co-host of the Bellator Christi Podcast
Brian G. Chilton is the founder of Bellator Christi Ministries and the co-host of the Bellator Christi Podcast. Dr. Chilton earned a Ph.D. in the Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University (with high distinction), a M.Div. in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his B.S. in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); earned a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University, and completed Unit 1 of Clinical Pastoral Education at Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Chilton is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, working out in his home gym, and watching football. He has served in pastoral ministry for over 20 years, works as a clinical hospice chaplain, and is an Adjunct Professor of Apologetics at Carolina College of Biblical Studies (https://www.CCBS.edu).
[1] Norman Geisler, “Logic,” Baker’s Encyclopedia on Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999), 427.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Brian G. Chilton, Layman’s Manual on Christian Apologetics (Eugene, OR: Resource, 2019), Logos Bible Software.
[4] Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica 1.q16.a5, resp, Fathers of the Dominican Province, trans (London, UK: Burns Oates & Washbourne, 1920), Logos Bible Software.
[5] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 236.
[6] Adam Harwood, Christian Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Systematic (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2022), 117.
