In this article we will begin acquainting our readers with the basics of logic. “Logic,” from the Greek word logos, is the science of correct reasoning, and provides tools for analyzing the form and content of arguments. Logic addresses the relationship of premises to conclusions, and helps us determine whether our reasoning is straight or crooked. The disciplines of logical reasoning are fast becoming a thing of the past, an artifact of a classical education. Feelings, emotions and rhetoric (persuasive speech) are most often the basis of what passes for “reasoning” today. If we are ever to “correctly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we are going to have to learn to think correctly.
One of the best ways to understand and apply the basics of logic is by becoming familiar with logical fallacies, that is, examples of faulty reasoning.
The fallacy of Equivocation is using the same word in two or more different ways in the same argument. Words have various usages, or a semantic range, and to switch meanings in the middle of an argument is called equivocation. For example: “The end of a thing is perfection; death is the end of life; hence, death is the perfection of life.” This argument is fallacious because two different senses of the word “end” are confused in it. The word “end” can mean either “goal” or “last event.”
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Author: BiblicalUnitarian.com
Keywords: Logic, Exegesis, Exegetical, rules of logic, trinity, trinitarian, triune, three persons, three persons in one God, trinitarianism
Bible reference(s): 1 Timothy 2:5, 2 Timothy 2:15, Acts 2:22, Hebrews 4:15, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 4:3, Titus 1:9, James 1:13, Numbers 23:19
Source: “Equivocation: The Art of Changing the Rules in the Middle of the Game,” biblicalunitarian.com
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