Thursday, January 16, 2014

An overview of Hebrew Block Logic

Work on block logic has largely been developed by Marvin Wilson in his book “Our Father Abraham”. Block logic is contrasted with “Greek” step logic. The latter is the sort of logic we are all used to where we draw one idea from another in logical succession. Wilson doesn’t contrast Hebrew with Greek logic because Hebrew’s never used Greek step logic (its clear from the Old Testament they did). Rather, block logic appears to have only been used by Hebrews and perhaps other Middle Eastern cultures. Block logic could also be termed “dualistic thought” because it is all about pulling out and placing next to each other completely opposite and opposing ideas. Pharaoh’s heart being hardened both by himself and by God is a classic example (see Exodus 7-8). The phrase, “Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated.” in Malachi 1:3 also expresses this sort of thinking. These statements point to tensions the Hebrew author is pointing to. It is a way of putting two ideas together without comparing them or drawing any further proposition from them that would solve the tension. To the Hebrew this would be seen as unnecessary.

The theme of Job points towards why this is; “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding (38:4 ESV).” A theme that is common throughout scripture from the story of Job to Solomon’s writings in Ecclesiastes to Paul’s writing in Romans is that there are mysteries of God that man either has no right to demand from God or has simply no way of knowing. Either way, the Hebrews saw no need to explore these ideas further. They were non-essentials because they had clearly and undeniably experienced the truth of God’s power and providence. In a way then ancient Hebrews were existentialists for they, like many Mediterranean culture’s saw experience of life as more important than creating a system of abstract thought. Indeed, all theological ideas of the Hebrews were seen in every aspect of their lives.

 Similar dualistic thinking can be seen in Luke 14:26:27 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple (NIV).” Here we see Jesus drawing tension between two ideas; following Him and loving one’s father and mother. What is interesting here is that Jesus never quite explains why it is that there is a tension between these two ideas but only explains the wisdom of counting the cost of following Christ before doing so. So not only is there a dualistic tension within the teaching of Jesus but there is also this diametric tension in the methods of Christ’s teachings. At one point he wishes to reveal important truths to His audience but at another He seems dead set on confounding and challenging His audience with confusing ideas seemingly left for them to think out for themselves. The statement Jesus makes at the end of His teaching makes this fairly clear, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

A fair conclusion to take from the above example is that Hebrew dualistic thought was not only used to draw lines in the sand of what is necessary to think out and what is not but also as an arrow urging people to continue forward, thinking through difficult ethical and existential issues. Therefore, I disagree with Wilson’s conclusion that we should see Hebrew block logic in the Bible as cautions against systematizing theology and trying to work out mysteries of God. I don’t think the Hebrew authors of the Old Testament saw such activities as dangerous unless they were done out of selfish condemnation and questioning of God justice and sovereignty as in the case of Job. Regularly, they just didn’t seem to care to solve seeming contradictions like God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom.



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