10 - RESTORING REASON - II

10 – Restoring Reason – II

October 28, 2024

Back in the 80’s I taught a Sunday school class of 12-14-year-olds.  I wish I had kept some notes about that class, because I cannot recall the curriculum or what prompted me to use this illustration again and again: to make a point, I would walk to the light switch beside the classroom door and turn the switch Off and On several times.  As I did that I would say, “A light is either On or Off.  It cannot be both On and Off at the same time.  As well, it cannot be neither On nor Off, nor can it be On for me and Off for you.  Its “On-ness” and “Off-ness” is a fact; it is true at all times and in all places, and it is true apart from any human being’s assent.”  [Well, after I introduced the illustration, I used a short-form explanation most of the time.]

The illustration demonstrated a principle we find in the design and form of the Universe: the Principle of Non-Contradiction.  It is the same principle we find in God, who is one, but the Universe, of course, is not one; it has many parts!  How, then, does God embed this principle in what he made, in what is not one?  Quite simply, through opposites!

The Universe is full of diversity – not the DEI kind(!) but a vast array of stuff that is related, yet different, in other words, differentiated.  The creation account in Genesis 1-2:7 outlines developing differentiation and complexity day-by-day.  And that differentiation – in both the material and immaterial things of the Universe – is grounded in opposites.  For example: 

 Beyond those mentioned in Genesis 1, we find opposites everywhere in creation.  For example: 

 And the list goes on and on… Now, returning to scripture, we find other opposites that have theological significance:

 Opposites are so pervasive in the Universe – across and throughout everything, both material and immaterial – that they are clearly foundational to its makeup and organization!  They are unitary in design – no contradiction – and yet incredibly diverse in form; from which comes the word uni-verse. 

Indeed, one may state with certainty (without fear of contradiction!!) that non-contradiction is a necessary condition for order in the Universe.  Non-contradiction “makes” sense – pun intended – and, in the absence of non-contradiction there is only disorder, confusion, chaos and nonsense.

Again, I have presented only a tiny sample of the evidence of God’s non-contradiction – his divine nature – in Creation. 

Next, we turn to the role of non-contradiction in human reason and in communication.