Is Jesus God? Part 4: A God of Logic

This section demonstrates that God is inherently logical and that we should study theology using logic. Affirming that God is logical is essential for determining if God has told us that Jesus is God and God is 3 in 1.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 1:18)

God calls people to reason with Him. This shows that being reasonable is part of who God is, and He invites us to be reasonable and logical ourselves in how we converse with Him.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:36-38)

Human reason and logic are part of what it means for a person to think. Jesus calls us to use this part of who we are, our mind – in its entirety – to love God.

Some Christian perspectives on whether God is logical:

1)         One translation of John 1:1 is that “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God.” This author maintains that because of this, Christ is shown to be the wisdom, logic, and right thinking of God. While I disagree with the author's designation of Christ as the Logos (explained later), I agree with his perspective that logic is part of who God is. Logic is part of what makes choosing between right and wrong possible, as well as discerning between truth and error. He refers to the most basic law of logic, the law of non-contradiction from Aristotle: “The same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject and in the same respect.” (Logic: The Right Use of Reason, n.d.). 

2)         This author says, “Logic isn’t something outside God to which he must conform, any more than righteousness or compassion is; it is an extension of his own being and character that we have the capacity to appreciate and reflect because he has built it into humanity (how we think) and this world (how it operates). So is God bound by logic? In the same sense that he is “bound” by righteousness or by love, yes; those are all part of his nature and he is “bound” to act according to his own nature. But in the sense that logic or righteousness or love is some universal quality external to God to which he is compelled to submit, no. God is not bound by logic; God is logic.” While there are seeming contradictions in Scripture, like between Calvinists and Arminians and their differing views on God’s grace and salvation, the author holds this does not make God illogical or mean that His logic is different than humans He says, “That doesn’t mean that God’s logic is different than ours but infinitely fuller and more informed because he alone has all the facts” (Is God bound by logic, n.d.).

3)         Theologian and author Norman Geisler said, “Without God, nothing could have existence. God is the basis of all logic in reality and he is in no way inferior to logic. Logic comes from God, not God from logic. But when it comes to how we know things, logic is the basis of all thought, and it must come before any thought about anything, including God. For example, I need a map before I can get to Washington, D.C. But Washington must exist before the map can help me get there. Even so, we use logic first to come to know God, but God exists first before we can know him” (Morrow, 2013).

4)    Author Bill Pratt said, “Can God violate the laws of logic?  No, because he cannot not be himself.  Whatever God is, he is eternally.  God does not shut down various attributes of his being, like cutting off lights in different parts of the house.  God is logical, he always has been logical, and he always will be logical. Someone might object, “Doesn’t this mean God is limited by logic?”  This objection has always struck me as strange because logic is synonymous with rationality.  Is God limited to being rational?  Well yes, in the same way he is “limited” by his goodness, or his beauty, or his holiness.  God is never evil, ugly, or unholy; likewise, God is never illogical or irrational.” (Pratt, 2010).

Understanding theology and drawing conclusions from the Bible is only possible because of logic. God is inherently logical. This is not unorthodox. Again, theologians must necessarily use logic to make any claim about who God is.

If anything we conclude about God is illogical, we are wise to question its validity given that God is inherently logical. I do not mean to say that there is no mystery in understanding God, or that we can fully comprehend an infinite God. I include this section to simply point out that God is inherently logical, and as the Creator of logic, He would not contradict logic, particularly as it concerns revealing Himself to His world. He is not a God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), and that would definitely be confusing.

The most logical answer to “Is Jesus God?” is the best one. If two perspectives both seem clear in Scripture and only one of them retains basic logic, that is the better perspective, because God does not contradict who He is as a logical God. I am not putting God in a box by saying that, though in my discussions with others on this topic, some have said I am. It is not putting God in a box to take God at His Word when He says He is logical, or Love, or Spirit, or not a man, or any number of things that God says about Himself. God cannot be what He says He is not. It is honoring to God for us to take Him at His Word and believe Him. There ARE things God cannot be and cannot do – He cannot be anything else than who He is. For example, He cannot sin.

The Trinity doctrine, as I will show in the posts to come, contradicts basic logic, and that should be a warning sign for Christians that something is off.  

A last note: I do not mean to say that everything in Scripture is black and white and should be taken literally. There is much nuance in Scripture, but I think logic should be used to best understand and interpret the Bible, whether a Bible passage is being interpreted literally or with more nuance.