Page 108 - Apologetics Student Textbook (3 Credits)

spiritual dynamic. All of these are images of God built into mankind. Once significant remnant of God’s
mind is that he gave man the ability to use logic to reason.

The Four Laws of Logic

• Everything that is, exists. (A is A)
• Nothing can simultaneously be and not be. (A is not not – A)
• Each and everything either is or is not. (X is either A or not -A)
• Of everything that is, it can be found why it is. (If A then B (A implies B))

The first law is called the law of identity. It is a very simple law. Another way of saying this law is
“whatever is, is.” It’s like saying an apple is an apple. This leads to a logic conclusion with the following
equation: if X is a man, and A is a man, then X = A. In mathematics, it is called the commutative law.

The second law is called the law of non-contradiction. It says, “nothing can both be and not be.” In
other words, two or more contradictory statements cannot both be true in the same sense as the same
time.” For example, you may say, “The Bible is true.” If that is a true statement, then the statement
“The Bible is false” is not true. Both statements cannot be right. Another example is “Jesus said, I am
the way to the Father, and there is NO OTHER WAY.” If Jesus told us the truth, then if another person
says, “There are many ways to God”, then that statement not true. Both statements cannot be true at
the same time.

The third law is called the law of excluded middle. It says, “Everything must either be or not be.”
Basically the law states that the negative statement of a statement cannot both be true. For example, if
you say, “An apple is a fruit”, and that is true, then the statement, “An apple is not fruit” would be false.

The fourth law is called the law of self-existence. It says, “if something is, then logic would led us to find
out why it is.” We need to ask the question, “If an apple is a fruit, why is it a fruit?” We should be able
to define what a fruit is to determine if an apple is really a fruit. Based on this law, a tomato is a fruit
and not a vegetable.

These laws are also called “rules of inference.” They reflect the way God thinks and the way we must
think if we are to think God’s thoughts. These laws of logic are universal, invariant, and abstract rules of
thought that govern all correct reasoning, because they parrot the mind of God. They are universal in
that they apply everywhere in the universe to every situation. They are invariant in that they, like God,
do not change over time. They are abstract in that they exist in our minds and have no physical
substance.

In the Christian worldview, laws of logic are justified which means we have good reason or reasons to
believe in them. And in the Christian worldview, we have an absolute, objective standard for correct
reasoning: God. These laws reflect the way God thinks and are rooted in His nature. We can use these
ways because we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Our minds have a finite capacity to
reflect God’s thoughts, as these laws describe.

Not only does the Christian worldview account for the laws of logic and their properties, but we can see
how each of the three fundamental laws of thought is rooted in the nature of God. Consider the law of
non-contradiction. Why is it that a proposition and its negation cannot both be true at the same

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