Greek Word Studies
Advanced Level
Lesson 4 (Agathos)
Title: Deductive Reasoning
Text: Matthew 19:16-17, ‘And, behold, one came and
said unto him, Good (agathos) Master, what good (agathos)
thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he said unto him, Why call you me good? there is none good (agathos) but one, that is, God: but if you will enter
into life, keep the commandments.'
The Rich Young Ruler approached Jesus using the word good (Greek agathos). Jesus was the Master Teacher. Jesus used deductive reasoning to teach the rich young ruler.
What is DEDUCTIVE REASONING?
Deductive reasoning works like this:
Proposition: All a’s are b’s
c is an a
Conclusion: c is a b
Example:
Proposition: All cats like milk
Felix is a cat
Conclusion: Felix likes milk
Jesus used deductive reasoning with the Rich Young Ruler.
First of all Jesus drew the man’s attention to what he had said.
The logic of his words could only leave one conclusion that Jesus is God.
‘Good (agathos) Master’
‘Why do you call ME good?’ There is none good but God.
Proposition: There is none good but God
Jesus is good
Conclusion: Jesus is God
(There is none) good but God
All a's are b's
Jesus is good
c is an 'a'
Jesus is God
c is a 'b'
If the proposition is true - then the conclusion must always be true.
But if the proposition is wrong then the conclusion will be wrong.
Example of a wrong proposition leading to a wrong conclusion is the theory of human evolution.
Proposition: All species of animals evolved from lower life forms
Humans are a species of animal
Conclusion: Humans evolved from a lower life form
The conclusion is wrong because the proposition is wrong.
Notes
for
Course:
Greek Word Studies
Lesson Title: Agathos