Faulty Boolean Logic: "I am right! So, if you disagree with me, you must be wrong"

At the church camp two weeks ago, we were reminded of this well-known Indian fable about the four blind men and the elephant. For those who have never heard it, the fable tells of four blind men who wanted to know what an elephant is like. So, one day they chanced upon an elephant and the four blind men began to feel the animal in order to know what it looks like. The first blind man caught the elephant's trunk and declared triumphantly  that the elephant was like a watering hose. The second blind man caught the elephant's tail and said, "My friend, you are wrong. The elephant is like a rope." The third blind man felt the elephant's leg and protested, "No you're all wrong. The elephant is like a tree trunk." The fourth blind man felt the elephant's body and announced with finality, "All three of you are dead wrong. The elephant is like a wall." So, what's the moral of the story? They are all RIGHT and they are also all WRONG! Boolean logic says that if A is true, then non-A is false.  But in this instance, A and non-A are both true. But taken singly, A and non-A's are also all false!


What's the point in this? That churches that follow the Boolean logic commits a logical fallacy: "I am right. If you disagree with me, you are wrong!" Often churches defend their particular doctrines or practices because they are very sure they have got them all right. So any churches that believe or do otherwise must be wrong! But why can't the other churches who believe or act differently from us be right too? Aren't we guilty of  Boolean logical fallacy when we think in this fashion? When churches exhibit this kind of mindset, it leads to divisions and criticisms of other churches' practices and beliefs. This often bewilders the outsiders who think that Christians are a quarrelsome lot because they often fight over petty issues. 


Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:9, "we know in part and we prophesy in part." All of us (whatever our denominational distinctives) only have partial knowledge of the God's truth. When other churches believe differently from us, we ought to humbly learn from them so that together we may have a fuller knowledge of the truth. Attacking others' beliefs and practices is a sign of spiritual immaturity and causes the churches all round to be spiritually impoverished because we are unable to profit from the different perspectives that others can give regarding the same truth.

Myanmar Anglican Province Alpha Training

Recently, we were at Yangon conducting Alpha training for the Anglican clergy and church leaders over a period of 5 days. For many Anglican clergy in the Province of Myanmar, this is the first exposure to Alpha and also to teachings of the Holy Spirit. There were powerful testimonies of people who were touched by the Spirit.

The training venue was actually built with funds from an Anglican church in Singapore. The temperature hovered around 40 deg C. And when the air-con stopped working because of the frequent brown-outs, the place became like a suana. But everyone persevered and the training went on as planned.

The churches in Myanmar are generally poor, reflecting the economic condition of the ordinary people. In particular, the Anglican Province of Myanmar has very little left in their treasury to support the clergymen and could be bankrupt in two to three years.

May we continue to pray for Myanmar and the churches and pastors there who are suffering under an oppressive regime.

My FAQs Book

I have just published my new resource book, "Frequently Asked Questions about Christianity." It is a compilation of 51 most frequently-asked questions by pre-believers on an Alpha course that I have heard over the last 14 years of leading Alpha small groups. The book is written with pre-believing readers in mind and so can be given to them as a pre-evangelism gift. It can also be given out as welcome gift to guests on an Alpha Introductory Events. Reading the answers to the questions in book may pique some of the guests to sign up for the Alpha Course to clarify or challenge the answers in the book.

Answers provided in this book are short and to the point. So it is a small book of about only 80+ pages. A book for pre-believers should be easy-to-read: most answers can be read in less than 3 minutes or less. While the answers may not always satisfy Christians who are more theologically informed, I believe they are good enough for pre-believers.

Furthermore, this book is also a good resource for Alpha small group leaders and helpers who need quick answers to the questions raised by pre-believers at the small group discussion -- or even during meal times. Hopefully many churches will buy this book as a resource for their small group leaders & helpers to boost their confidence and competency in small group facilitation.

Individual Christians can also buy this book to give out to their non-Christian colleagues & friends as a form of literature evangelism. The retail price is SGD 6.00. However, you can order from Armour Publishing at bulk discount of SGD 5.00 for quantity above 50.

Or you can buy from me directly for SGD 5.00. Please email me at cmthen@gmail.com or call +65-96707359.

God bless.

Chee Min