Originally posted by darkhorse
please don't be honoredâ¦I'm even more uncomfortable w/ undue praise than undue criticismâ¦.
Everything is ultimately from God. He created reality ex nihilo, from nothing, and so the basic structure of reality reflects his attributes. We have logic, reason and symmetry because the creator is ultimately logicalâ¦we have beauty because he is beautifulâ¦.creativity because he is creativeâ¦power because He is powerfulâ¦and so on and so forth. God is the cynosure, the infinite starting point, the source of all. His fingerprints are everywhere because reality is His design.
Man was made in the image of God- that is, we reflect His attributes, though on an infinitely smaller scale of course. In a sense, man is able to 'think God's thoughts after Him'- but only to a limited degree, with the limits imposed by our fragile structures and tiny minds. Ugliness and pain are brought about by man's rebellion against his telos- his natural design, his purpose and function of glorifying the creator. Because man is made in God's image, man has the ability to destroy and cause pain when he fights the reason for which he draws breath.
Man has the ability to do evil because man can challenge his telos, turn his natural will against its revealed purpose. But partial rebellion of men and angels is part of the grand design too, because with no struggle there is no glory in overcoming, with no challenge there is no ultimate triumph. Everyone exists for the ultimate purpose of serving God and ultimately glorifying Him- whether they like it or not, whether they know it or not, whether they accept it or not. His grand design is more breathtaking than the most elegant solutions of science, more perfect than the most precise equation, more beautiful than the cosmos, more striking than the most heartrending images of beauty we can conceive.
SO: yes, logic and reason ultimately come from God because ALL things come from God. Evil is simply the result of natural wills bucking the trend with God's consent for the purpose of the divine plan. He is the first mover, the creator and sustainer. Without Him there would be no logic, no reason, no thoughts, no existence, no anything. He rules with an iron hand in a velvet glove, at times tender, at times ruthless, always fully in control. Those who rebel against him only do so because He wishes it so. The natural will fancies itself strong but crumbles in the face of true power. Man's intellect, man's willpower, man's ability to resist are like a whiff of smoke in the face of a tornado. We aren't contenders, we aren't even grains of sand. Reason is a divine gift. If He wants you, you will be drawn to Him. If you are drawn to Him, you will come.
LOL there's my long answer Stu, with plenty of context to precede it.
And now I really have to get off this computer and get fixed up for our lil' vacation.
See you cats in a few days. Outie for realz.