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Sunday, August 27, 2023

Sunday Meditation: "Come now, let us reason together." Isaiah 1:18

The way people argue on social media is so often so mindless that I decided to go back and review the rules of logic. I took down Introduction to Logic by Irving Copi and Carl Cohen from a shelf in my home library to check out the fallacies. Originally published in 1994, it's a college textbook. Interestingly Part One on reasoning begins with the quote in the headline from Isaiah, "Come now, and let us reason together." Even before I had a chance to dive into the subject of logic, I was intrigued and distracted by the quote and decided to look it up and check out the context.

Bible translations vary greatly and there are a number of different translations for this particular verse. I checked them out at Bible Hub which I often use as a reference. Most of the bibles listed use the words "reason together." I'll just list one example:
English Standard Version: “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Other translations refer to settling the matter, speaking of it, arguing, or discussing it as these translations illustrate:
New International Version: “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD.  
Holman Christian Standard Bible: "Come, let us discuss this,” says the LORD.” 

New Revised Standard Version: "Come now, let us argue it out," says the LORD:

The Douay-Rheims (DR) translation, however, and the Vulgate (upon which the DR was based) both have a very different wording:

Douay-Rheims Bible and Vulgate: And then come, and accuse me, saith the Lord: if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool.

Accuse the Lord? What does that mean? That led me to read all the verses in chapter 1 preceding it. In those versus, God speaks to the Israelites condemning their actions which include idolatry and the notorious sins of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah:

Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have brought up children, and exalted them: but they have despised me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath not understood. Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a wicked seed, ungracious children: they have forsaken the Lord, they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they are gone away backwards....Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrha....Offer sacrifice no more in vain: incense is an abomination to me. The new moons, and the sabbaths and other festivals I will not abide, your assemblies are wicked....Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices from my eyes, cease to do perversely....Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow. And then come, and accuse me, saith the Lord.

Which translation makes the most sense? Is God saying "Come, let's discuss" your unfaithfulness and rebellion?  Does he want to "argue" about it, as though He needs to debate the matter with His creatures and "settle the matter" as if he is meeting with an arbitration board?

No! He challenges his unfaithful creatures to "accuse" Him. And isn't that exactly what human nature tends toward when things aren't going well? "Hey God, why did you do that to me?" Don't we point our finger at God so often when the cause of our problems resides with the person in the mirror? The passage in Isaiah reminded me of another prophet, Ezekiel, who also recognizes the foolishness of human nature:

And you have said: The way of the Lord is not right. Hear ye, therefore, O house of Israel: Is it my way that is not right, and are not rather your ways perverse? (Ezekiel 18:25)

While I think the quote "let us reason together" is less to the point, God gave us our reason so we could, well, reason, i.e. judge rightly. Our reason is often called the seat of judgment. 

And all this brings me back to my original intention -- to review the rules of logic so I can use my reason and judgment more effectively, avoid the fallacies, and engage in respectful and reason-able discussion. So many today argue from their feelings and when they're challenged resort to name-calling and ad hominem attacks. Studying logic could help us all engage in more effective and more respectful discussions. 

5 comments:

  1. This topic is near and deer to my heart. As a former Protestant, all we had was the Bible and the “assurance” that God would lead each of us into “all truth” by our own readings of Scripture and comparing Scripture against Scripture.

    But I found, after I got serious about my faith, that there were many different versions of the Bible and many of those versions were not compatible with other versions - verses saying completely different things with different meanings and consequences. And also, therefor, seemingly everyone was coming up with infinitely different belief systems based on different versions of the Bible and infinitely various interpretations of these Bibles.

    One side used Scripture to prove Sodomy was evil. The other side used Scripture to prove Sodomy was a gift from God.

    This chaos of belief, this increasingly obvious Christian anarchy, was tremendously important in leading me to the RC Faith that claimed for Herself the authority to authoritatively publish and interpret Scripture in union with Christ and all Christians who have ever lived and ever will live.

    This long, straight line of Sacred Tradition is the lifeblood of my RC Faith. It means everything to me. My faith antennas are finely tuned to sense deviations from it. I don’t want opinions and fads. I want divinely guaranteed Church Teaching. It may be hard to see, but that long straight apostolic line is there, until the end of time.

    But the main thing is - Jesus. Jesus Christ is our sovereign King and Lord, the Gate of Salvation, our Redeemer, Life, Law, source of unity in His perfect Charity. We are redeemed by Him, live through Him and will enjoy Him forever in Heaven forever within the holy fire of Love of the Blessed Trinity, His Angels and Saints.

    All that to say: thank you, Jesus, for giving us the Holy Roman Catholic Church - not my vision and will but Thine. Even if the devil tries to keep us from Her, She is our perfect Mother and as such is always there with Her Magisterial doors open to those willing to repent, turn, submit, follow Her to Jesus in the Eschaton.

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  2. https://youtu.be/jCUV8OuOi5M?feature=shared

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  3. Attention: Susan Matthiesen
    Google YouTube “Traditional vs New Rosary”.
    It’s a good video. Something to consider.

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  4. Socratic Logic, by Peter Kreeft
    Engaging examples and commentary.
    He has a quick route and a comprehensive route through the text.

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  5. I like Peter Kreeft a lot and have a number of his books. Don't have that one. It's pretty pricey even on the second hand market.

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