Philosophy is unavoidable because it is foundational to every category of life. It is what lies at the root of all fundamental thought. It is the foundation of one's worldview and it is also a necessary presupposition for Christians and a Christian worldview. Since all truth is God's truth, and since philosophy is a quest for truth, then philosophy will contribute to our understanding of God and His world. (Geisler and Feinberg, Introduction to Philosophy). Everyone has beliefs, everyone has a philosophy, which is to say, everyone has a worldview. It is, however, the philosophical categories of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and logic that stand behind one’s beliefs. They are the presuppositions that define why one believes what they believe. They define why things are the way they are. 

At West Florida Theological Seminary, we teach philosophy, critical thinking, and logic as a fundamental tool for going on into higher education. Christians should not only know what they believe to be true, but they should know why they believe it. Christians are commanded to be able to reason, articulate, and make sound arguments to support the validity of the Bible (1Peter 3:15, Phil 1:7, Col 4:6, Jude 3, Acts 17:17, 2 Cor 10:5, Titus 1:9, 2 Tim 2:24-25, Rom 12:2). Logic helps Christians to establish and follow the arguments that the biblical authors are making. In addition, logic helps to identify the fallacies that emerge in arguments that are made against the truths of the Bible. Moreover, logic is a necessity for proper Bible exegesis and exposition.

To be logical is to think rightly: to draw reasonable conclusions from the available information. God's thoughts are infinitely higher than ours, just as Isaiah 55:9 explains: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." Clearly, we cannot think exactly like God, and He does not expect us to. But we can think in a way that is consistent with His character. And that is what is required for correct reasoning. Logic is the study of the principles of correct reasoning. To reason logically is to reason correctly--after the way God reasons. Correct reasoning helps us to have true beliefs. (Lisle, Introduction to Logic) 

God's Word reflects true reality. It reflects the way things really are. To understand reality, we must come to the same conclusions that God's Word comes to. To come to the same conclusion as God's Word we must understand the argument and the conclusion.

Some examples of biblical arguments and conclusions:

Categorical syllogisms

Premise 1: All A is inside B
Premise 2: All B is inside C
Conclusion: All A is inside C

Romans 1:1-4
Premise 1: The one fulfilling the Old Testament messianic prophesies is the Messiah.
Premise 2: Jesus fulfills the Old Testament messianic prophesies.
Conclusion: Therefore, Jesus is the Messiah.

Romans 3:23
Premise 1: All those who sin fall short of God's glory.
Premise 2: All people are those who sin.
Conclusion: Therefore, All people fall short of God's glory

Hypothetical Syllogisms (if-then)

Romans 4:1-3
If Abraham was justified by works then he had reason to boast.
Abraham had no reason to boast.
Therefore, Abraham was not saved by works.

Disjunctive Syllogism

Either A or B
Not A
Therefore B

Rom 11:5-6
Either it is of works or it is of grace
It is not of works
Therefore, it is of grace


Some of our Philosophy and logic textbooks:



Free pdf version of Dr. Turner's book