logic

   Logic is the study of the correct way of reasoning. It is a prescriptive discipline rather than a merely descriptive one (psychology describes how we actually do reason). The two main methods for describing how we should think are the propositional calculus and its extension the predicate calculus. There are also other systems such as modal logic, temporal logic, and so on. Frequently the question is asked whether God is 'subject to' logic. This question in fact betrays a misunderstanding: logic prescribes a way of reasoning, and so no individual is 'subject' to it. The question may be pressed as to whether God can perform logically impossible actions. But 'a logically impossible action' is not an action at all; what is meant is that we have a form of words that seems to denote an action until we realise that it does not make logical sense. There is nothing for God to fail to do. One might ask instead whether God follows the laws of logic when he reasons. Most Christian philosophers, including Aquinas, have, however, denied that God reasons (since he already knows whatever the conclusion of the reasoning would be). Finally, if the question is asked whether God's beliefs form a logical whole the answer is that insofar as they can be said to form a whole they do: God does not have inconsistent beliefs, since all his beliefs are true.

   See truth

   Further reading: Flew 1998; Geach 1972; Hodges 2001; Moreland and Craig 2003