Apples of Gold
Radio Script for October 22, 2008
“Learn a Little Logic”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Have you ever studied logic?
I did in college and I loved it.
You start with a basic syllogism, something like this:
All dogs are mammals.
My pet is a dog.
Therefore my pet is a mammal.
See, we started with two premises and came up with a logical conclusion.
Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?
But the subject is much deeper than that. There’s a lot to learn about logic, but it’s important for clear thinking.
Now here’s an example of obviously bad logic:
All dogs are mammals.
My pet is a mammal.
Therefore my pet is a dog.
It’s easy to see the faulty logic in that one because you already know about pets and mammals and you know that my pet mammal might actually be a black panther.
But sometimes it’s much harder to see faulty logic if you don’t know what to look for.
For example, someone might say:
A woman has a right to choose what she can do with her own body.
A pregnancy takes place inside a woman’s body.
Therefore a woman has a right to choose what she can do with her pregnancy.
That sounds logical, but it has a faulty premise. A woman does not have a right to choose what she can do with her own body. For example, she can’t be a prostitute. She can’t sleep on the steps of the capitol. She can’t yell “Bomb!” at the airport. She can’t smoke crack. She can’t even smoke a cigarette after lunch at Applebee’s. My goodness, she can’t even cross the street at the wrong spot, just ask my daughter who was actually cited for jaywalking.
So you see, it helps to know logic, both how it should work and what makes it not work.
Logic is sort of like math. Learning that 2 + 2 = 4 is easy enough. But learning that -4 + -5 = -9 starts to stretch the mind a little.
Yes, it will take some work, but it’s important that we learn to think clearly.
Ephesians 4:14 indicates that some people are like babies. It says they are “tossed back and forth,” “blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”
See, there is a lot of deceitful scheming going on. It’s an election year, which means we see a lot of cunning and craftiness.
We also see this in the church. In the name of the faith people teach all sorts of odd things.
How do we keep from falling for them?
One way is by learning to think logically. It helps us see right through craftiness to the truth of the matter.
First Thessalonians 5:21 says, “Test everything. Hold on to the good.”
Thinking logically is one way we test everything.
Philippians 4:8 says we are to think about “whatever is true.”
Logic helps us drill down to the truth of the matter.
Romans 16:18 says that some people fall for “smooth talk.” It says those people are “naïve.”
If you study logic, you will be less likely to fall for smooth talk. You will be less naïve.
First Corinthians 14:20 tells us to stop thinking like children and to start thinking like adults.
The thinking of children is undisciplined and illogical. It’s time we grow up in our thinking, and one way we do that is by learning to think logically.
Here is a specific example in the Bible when God rebukes the people for not thinking logically. In Isaiah 44 the Lord points out that the people are making idols out of wood, the exact same wood that they use to build a fire for cooking or to keep warm. They would actually, at the same moment, be cooking over part of the wood, while worshipping another part of the wood that they had whittled into an idol.
God basically said, “These people don’t even stop to think about what they are doing.”
Does the same hold true for us? Have we sharpened our minds enough to think logically?
I like what it says in Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it costs all you have, get understanding.” Proverbs also talks about getting “knowledge” and “insight” and “good judgment”
And one way we can gain insight and good judgment is by studying this simple and deep subject of logic.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
Here is an interesting website I found. It’s about teaching logic to homeschoolers:
http://www.fallacydetective.com/articles/read/learning-logic-at-home/
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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