Even when I was in the depths of my series on logical fallacies I remember asking myself, “Was Jesus logical?” It’s one of these curious positions you get in once in a while when studying the Bible. Have you ever heard someone criticizing a biblical author (usually Paul) for quoting Scripture out of context? Recently I heard a Bible translator stating that James was the only New Testament writer to properly translate Hebrew “negative commands” like “Thou shalt not.” I fear we’re guilty of arrogance when we have passed beyond textual criticism and moved into faulting Paul’s exegesis and Matthew’s grasp of translation theory.

Preston Jones writing for Touchstone has a thought-provoking article called “Gangster Disciple” that asks “Was Jesus logical?” (HT to the Internet Monk for putting me on to Touchstone) It is a poignant reflection on our own intellectualism and I highly recommend it to you.

Was Jesus logical? Is logic our goal?