Redeeming Reason: A God-Centered Approach
Humans use reasoning to understand and order the world around us. We apply this logic in a variety of contexts, from classifying simple objects to considering complex philosophies. But how should our identity as Christians—made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26–27) with minds renewed by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:1–2)—inform our reasoning? Vern S. Poythress explains how all human reasoning reflects God’s nature. Providing a foundational understanding of God as the source of rationality, Poythress details the 3 fundamental laws of logic—identity, contradiction, and excluded middle—with a strong focus on analogical reasoning. This robust guide explains types of analogy, ethics applied to logic, the use of analogies in the doctrines of God, and more to give readers a renewed perspective on how to use reason as a follower of God.
Publisher: Crossway
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781433587313
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Vern S. Poythress (PhD, Harvard University; ThD, University of Stellenbosch) is Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Biblical Interpretation, and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he has taught for four decades. In addition to earning six academic degrees, he is the author of numerous books and articles on biblical interpretation, language, and science.
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“We live in an age in which people have largely forgotten how to think. They emote, they assert, and they yell; but one of the most powerful human goods—our rational capacity—has atrophied for lack of use. Our superintelligent, suprarational God has given us intellectual gifts to navigate the world, and it’s high time we recover how we are to use them. In this much-needed volume, Vern Poythress helps us to be rational without being rationalists and reasonable without forfeiting our affections. As a mathematician, theologian, and New Testament scholar, there is no one better equipped to help us redeem reason than Poythress.” C. Ben Mitchell, author, Ethics and Moral Reasoning: A Student’s Guide