Some say Christians must kiss their brains goodbye. Really? Haven’t they heard the first and great commandment? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with ALL YOUR MIND, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)
Aren’t they familiar with so many great Christian thinkers and scientists like Newton, Kepler, Pascal, Pasteur, Bacon, Napier, Babbage, Volta, and Mendel, to name just a few?
It isn’t just old-time scientists, either. Between 1901 and 2000, 65% of Nobel Prize Laureates claimed to be Christian.
And have such nay-sayers ever tried to follow the logic and reasoning through Bible books like Romans? It takes some serious effort.
So I invite you, in the words recorded by Isaiah, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord.” (Isaiah 1:18) Let’s try loving God with all our minds for the next few minutes.
One classical form of reasoning is given the Latin term argumentum a fortiori. It means to prove a lesser case by the greater, or the weaker by the stronger. Here are some examples from the Bible.
There’s a whole series of them in the book of Romans, often marked out by the words “much more.”
First, God loved us at our worst, “while we were still sinners.” So, “much more,” He won’t give up on those who trust in Him once they’ve had their sins paid for by Christ’s precious blood. (Romans 5:8-9) Those who believe in the Lord Jesus are as precious to God as His own dear Son. (See John 17:23.)
Paul adds, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10)
These are the two glorious provisions we receive in the Savior: His life given FOR us at the Cross to deal with the penalty of our sin, and His life given TO us in resurrection to provide us the power to overcome the temptation of sin.
Here’s another thrilling one. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)
Surely the hardest thing God ever did was hand over His Son to cruel sinners who would mock, blaspheme, despise, and crucify Him.
After that, the second part would seem to be easy by comparison—graciously giving us “all things,” meaning all that’s good for us, all that would arm us for life’s challenges and equip us for accomplishing God’s will in our lives. What a generous God we serve!
Now here’s the opposite of an a fortiori argument. You’ve probably heard it before. A fellow texts his girl: “I’d climb the highest mountain, swim the deepest river, cross a burning desert, for you. But I can’t come over now. It’s raining.”
Does that sound familiar? Do we sing “All To Jesus I Surrender” on Sunday morning but begrudge Him a few minutes of our time through the week?
It’s good to love God with our minds, thinking deeply about Scripture as we hear it taught from our pulpits. But it means very little if we don’t then go into our communities to love Him with all our “heart…soul…and…strength” as well.
That’s heaven’s logic for you.
Article published February 20, 2026 in the Commercial Dispatch.