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The Road Runner tactic is so effective because it utilizes the Law of Non-contradiction.

The Law of Non-contradiction is a self-evident first principle of thought. It says contradictory claims cannot be both true at the same time. In short, it says that the opposite of true is false.

We all know this law intuitively and use it everyday.

Suppose you see a married couple on the street one day – some of your friends – and you ask the wife if it’s true that she’s expecting a baby.

If she says “yes” and her husband says “no,” you don’t say “OK, both must be right”.

You will agree that they cannot both be right.

The Law of Non-contradiction makes that self-evident to you. When investigating any question of fact, including the question of God, the same Law of Non-contradiction applies.

Either the theists are right, God exists; or the atheists are right, God does not exist. Both cannot be correct.

Likewise, either Jesus died and rose from the dead as the Bible claims, or He did not as the Quran (Koran) claims. One is right, and one is wrong.

In fact, a medieval Muslim philosopher, Avicenna, suggested a surefire way to correct someone who denies the Law of Non-contradiction. He said that anyone who denies the Law of Non-contradiction should be beaten and burned until the person admits that to be beaten is not the same as not to be beaten, and to be burned is not the same as not to be burned!

While reasonable people have no problem with the Law of Non-contradiction, some very influential philosophers have denied it implicitly in their teachings.

In next posts, we’ll look into some of these philosophers like David Hume and Immanuel Kant.

Personal Reflection:

Skepticism seems so prevalent today. Where do you think it originated from?