"It's Not Logical"

I hear this argument all the time, mostly from atheists, but occasionally from someone who has superficially looked at the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"It's just not logical."

"It has to make sense to me and it doesn't."

"I can't just accept it on a 'feeling'."

First of all, do these people honestly think that ALL religious people, ALL Christians or ALL Latter-day Saints have relinquished reason and logic in favor of a warm fuzzy? There have been plenty of intelligent, even brilliant minds who are in any or all of these categories. Scientists, philosophers, doctors, lawyers-- people whose jobs ARE to reason and think logically, to question and to find answers to those questions.

Are they really so arrogant as to suppose that THEIR logical conclusions supercede so many of the great thinkers out there?

I personally don't rely 100% on "warm fuzzies" and how my "beliefs" make me feel inside-- because quite honestly, at least half the time, they kinda make me feel like crap. I don't subscribe to a "soft Christianity" as C. S. Lewis puts it, and in order to live the way I do, make the choices I make- from diet to language to sexual behavior- I had better be quite sure that it makes sense.

And it does. I wonder frequently what the difference is- between my logic and theirs. How could our "logical conclusions" come out so differently? I don't claim to put myself up there with those great thinkers I mentioned before, but I do consider myself to be a rational person, a logical and reasonable person. I enjoy reading works of higher thinkers and those "aha" moments I get when something clicks.

I've been rereading C. S. Lewis' Mere Christianity again and the fact is, he starts from the beginning and logically (and in simple layman's terms, which I appreciate) uncovers things in human nature (things we can all see and all admit) that show that there is, at the very least, a Supreme Being of some nature. In further chapters, he walks us through and logically points us in the direction of Christianity. The thing I find most interesting is that he LOGICALLY deduced these things- starting from the point of an atheist. And he reasoned himself into Christianity.

So, to me, I cannot wrap my head around anyone who says that "It's not logical." What's not logical, exactly? Because according to my own ability to reason, I've become more and more convinced of the truth of what I believe. And furthermore, I've become more and more convinced of the "logic" of relying to some degree at least on "feeling". Like nature and nurture, reason and revelation work hand in hand- why wouldn't God expect us to take some things on faith? If I am to understand the whole purpose of being here (that being to find out the core within us, which side we are really on), then why would God give up the whole game and tell us the answers? Isn't that the point of a "test"? To go in and find out what you know on your own without the book or the teacher to tell you the answers? Do you honestly expect to reason yourself into an answer on the final exam in microbiology if you didn't study the book, if you didn't come to lectures, take notes and study them later? Trust me, I've tried. Didn't work out so well.

The only answer that I can find, that keeps swirling in my head is found in my own textbook- The Book of Mormon-  in the book of Alma, chapter 12 verses 9-11:

 9And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to ^aknow the ^bmysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart ^conly according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
 10And therefore, he that will ^aharden his heart, the same receiveth the ^blesser portion of the word; and he that will ^cnot harden his heart, to him is ^dgiven the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
 11And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser ^aportion of the word until they ^bknow nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the^cchains of ^dhell.

This shows exactly how it works in any study, not just in religious ones. C. S. Lewis makes an excellent point about believing things on authority-

"Ninety-nine percent of the things you believe are believed on authority. I believe there is such a place as New York. I have not seen it myself. I could not prove by abstract reasoning that there must be such a place. I believe it because reliable people have told me so. The ordinary man believes in the Solar System, atoms, evolution, and the circulation of the blood on authority-- because the scientists say so. Every historical statement in the world is believed on authority. None of us has seen the Norman Conquest or the defeat of the Armada. None of us could prove them by pure logic as you prove a thing in mathematics. We believe them simply because people who did see them have left writings that tell us about them: in fact, on authority. A man who jibbed at authority in other things as some people do in religion would have to be content to know nothing all his life."

My example earlier with the microbiology test stands here as well-- most of us believe the things we are taught in these classes on authority- and if we study carefully we will find that they begin to make sense to us, that the more we study and seek to understand, the more we do  understand. However, when our only purpose in studying what is there is to poke holes in our teacher's statements or simply don't study and since we don't understand it state that "It isn't logical"- why I suppose you're right. It isn't logical if you lack the understanding and information that offers the clarity you seek. So then the only "logical" place to go then is to assume that all microbiology isn't true, that it's a bunch of bunk some guy made up to make a whole lot of college students miserable for a semester or two. And it's just so much easier to not accept it and you can come out of the fog of microbiology and step into the light and clarity of not believing in it at all and congratulate yourself for being such a logical person to see past all the hype and into the reality of nothingness.

In my experience, the more I study, the more I learn, the more I seek to know the truth from sources that I do, quite honestly, trust and find to be reliable sources, the more I find that my particular brand of Christianity is actually quite logical- and my "feelings" support this- I've never felt one of those things (logic or faith) leading the way more than the other. As my knowledge increases, so does my faith- and as my faith increases, so does my understanding and knowledge. It's not just a scripture about spirituality- I would go so far as to call it a Law of Knowledge- that's how it's acquired. Even science bases it's studies on hypotheses- not facts. It proves them after guessing, thinking or feeling that it might be the case.