Formal Logic in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles

Abstract

The article discusses the place and role of formal logic in the Christian Holy Scripture of the New Testament (Gospels and Acts of the Apostles). Based on the use of the content analysis method, hermeneutic method, a systematic approach, as well as objective textual analysis, the meaning of formally logical laws and rules from the point of view of the New Testament biblical narrative is revealed, namely: in general, the relation to logical rationality is analyzed, then the relation to the basic laws and rules of formal logic (to the first — on the example of the four main laws: laws of identity, contradiction, excluded by the third and sufficient basis, to the second — on the example of specific types of conclusions). Possible objections about the «logical paradoxes» and about the «contradictory» in the Gospel narrative are being resolved. It is established that these «paradoxes», as well as the contradictions found in the New Testament texts, in reality do not at all indicate a disregard for the objective meaning of logical rules and laws, since they turn out to be imaginary. At the end of the article, it is concluded that the texts of the New Testament under consideration give objective meaning to formal logic, rational thinking as the most important means of knowledge and the supreme criterion of truth.