One of the primary revelations the Holy Spirit gave me when I was born-again as an 7th-day Adventist Christian was that He is the Master of Reality and True Logic; that He was not confusing, mystical or nonsensical, but that He would lead me "unto all truth" as fast as I could handle it. Any confusion was on my part, and He woos and teaches with bold clarity. We stay dumb out of our own choice. See James 1:5.

This I appreciate still, rejecting the fallen church's manmade concepts that He is illogical, contridictory, bi-polar or expects "blind faith".

My topic premise is: God expects us to be like Him, logical thinkers and reasoners. How does He make us that way?

But first, we must see if that is God really expects from us; Does He encourage Spirit-filled and logical reasoning in His people or not?

Let's see:

From the BIBLE:

1Samuel 12:7 "Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which He did to you and to your fathers."

Job 13:3 "Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God."

Of course, Isaiah 1:18 is unquestionably about logic and reason.

From the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY:

Is reasoning and logic useful in teaching the Gospel?:

"His (Paul's) intellectual power commanded the respect of the learned; while his earnest, logical reasoning and the power of his oratory held the attention of all in the audience. His hearers recognized the fact that he was no novice, but was able to meet all classes with convincing arguments in support of the doctrines he taught. Thus the apostle stood undaunted, meeting his opposers on their own ground, matching logic with logic, philosophy with philosophy, eloquence with eloquence. {AA 235.2}

"Well!", you say "That was Paul; he was either so great a saint or so smart that God used his gifts of logic."

Not so! Paul had one thing only that gave him sanctified logic and reasoning: he was filled with the Holy Spirt, baptised in the Fire of Heaven. That qualified him to use the tool of logic correctly.


"A man may be logical; he may be sound in doctrine; his instruction may contain nothing but that which, if followed, will do good; and still his labors may be useless; they lack the holy fire...
A keen, sharp intellect may be an advantage, but the power of the educator is in his heart connection with the Light and Life of the world.
He will love humanity and ever seek to bring it to a higher level.
He will not always be blaming others, but his heart will be filled with pity.
He will not be great in his own estimation,
neither will he seek constantly to bolster up and strengthen his own dignity;
but the humility of Jesus will be personified in his life." {SSW, October 1, 1885 par. 3}

True Reasoning requires the true infilling of the holy Spirit.

Any interest in this topic?

Phil, how does a logical, reasonable person deal with passages like this one:

SC 106, 107
The apostle Paul exclaims, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" Romans 11:33. But though "clouds and darkness are round about Him," "righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne." Psalm 97:2, R.V. We can so far comprehend His dealings with us, and the motives by which He is actuated, that we may discern boundless love and mercy united to infinite power. We can understand as much of His purposes as it is for our good to know; and beyond this we must still trust the hand that is omnipotent, the heart that is full of love. {SC 106.1}

The word of God, like the character of its divine Author, presents mysteries that can never be fully comprehended by finite beings. The entrance of sin into the world, the incarnation of Christ, regeneration, the resurrection, and many other subjects presented in the Bible, are mysteries too deep for the human mind to explain, or even fully to comprehend. But we have no reason to doubt God's word because we cannot understand the mysteries of His providence. . . . God has given us in the Scriptures sufficient evidence of their divine character, and we are not to doubt His word because we cannot understand all the mysteries of His providence. {SC 106.2}

Real easily, MM:

Sound Bible Logic will tell you not to attempt to go where you are not fitted by Him to go. (Don't attempt to climb El Capitain in house slippers!)

It also will tell you not to waste time on gnat-staining. (Satan loves to distract; Christ loves to attract. The differnce is in the reactions of the character)

It will also tell you to be so authentically attuned to the Holy Spirit that He will say "Go!" and He will say "Stop!", not your own pride or judgement.

One of the things which attracted me to SDA'ism was the appeal to evidence and reason. To me it's very appealing that God seeks to win us, not on the basis of authority, but on the basis of evidence and reason.

The difficulty for most people is that there is so much...a ton...of printed evidence from the SOP, the Pioneers and the sons of the Pioneers that it is often overwhelming. It takes a hand in the Holy Spirit's hand to navigate wisely through it all with sanctified logic.

Otherwise, with so much data, and superficial research, one can become frustrated or worse..create a dogma by "cafeteria-line selection"...