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Logic vs. Authority Logic aligns realities upon life. But curruption creates irrationality, even in religion. Christ said that people are supposed to try to understand what he taught (Mark 7:14). He referred to himself as the teacher (Mat 23:8). Teaching and understanding align the mind upon objective reality. Reason is the process. Logic is strict reason. Reason is making relationships between realities. Consistent relationships are the test of truth. Truth is the product. Truth is a correct relationship to objective reality. Christ said he is the truth (John 14:6) and the truth would set people free (John 8:32). That means we are supposed to be producing truth.There is often a tendency to do otherwise. Christ attempted to correct that problem. The problem is that subconscious forces create the opposite result. They create irrationality. When irrationality gets habitual, the whole concept of reason or logic is opposed. Reason is replaced by the assumption that what feels right is more reliable than logic. There is a tendency to rely upon authority as a source of reality and assume that logic is some sort of trickery or brainwashing which must be avoided. A truism is that all authority over reality is a corruption. Authority over reality can never be constructive. Reality must always be handled through procedures including logic which authority precludes. Authority and logic are mutually exclusive determiners of correctness of reality. Logic and reason are not incidental characteristics of reality; they are mental activities applied for the purpose of determining correctness of reality. There can only be one determiner for correctness of reality; it cannot be both authority and logic, because different minds are not going to draw the same conclusions, and the process can never be perfect and complete. Some persons assume that anyone who attacks authority must be dead to sin. Guess what. There is more than one purpose for authority. One purpose is valid, and one is not. Corrupters use the valid purpose for promoting the invalid purpose. The valid purpose of authority is to make decisions related to actions for controlling processes. Invalid authority is to determine correctness of reality by authority, which is dictating reality. As far as Christians are concerned, Christ had the highest authority possible. But he never allowed authority to replace logic (as frauds always do). He taught the logic of morality. For example, he said if a sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath, do you not pull it out on the Sabbath (Mat 12:11,12)? He used the logic of normal behavior to determine the logic of the moral principle. Teaching and understanding require logic, and they are destroyed by authority, as described above. Christ, and the other true prophets, harped relentlessly on the importance of knowledge and understanding, which require logic, not authority. Why then quote Christ? Because of reliability. Depending upon the reliability of other persons is not the same as their authority replacing the process of evaluating reality. A person cannot understand or use reality without the process of evaluation which includes logic. Some persons assume authority represents superior logic; superior logic should supersede inferior logic; and therefore authority should determine reality. The error of that assumption is that it eliminates the process. Authorities don't go into a dark corner, perfect their logic and reality, and then come out to reveal the results. The process is difficult with openness and accountability, and it never occurs in the dark. In fact, it is never a completed processes. Improving the condition of reality is a continous and demanding challenge. Evil persons avoid the light of truth, because it exposes their deeds as evil, while moral persons seek the light of truth (John 3:20,21). Sheltered logic is an attempt to avoid the light of truth.The Significance of Logic |