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The sense of logic

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St Anne. Photo Anu Hätinen  The universe does not have to make sense to us. It is not ultimately necessary that we can understand the logic of being. Moreover, being does not ultimately need to have a logic whatsoever. Yet that is what we experience: we encounter the world as something that has a logic, as a series of incidents that make sense, almost without exception. When that is not the case, we shout: "This does not make sense!" And we feel distressed. We stubbornly expect that being makes sense. Obviously, this conviction is right. Our life does not work without a meaning. My words here, these letters on the screen, are designed to convey a meaning. They are written with the intention to be intelligible, not arbitrarily (like this: sodkhg wkreesi lasit). If the reader should find my point flawed, the criterion for that would be the reason, rationality that we both appeal to.  No one truly believes in the mere chance. On the contrary, it is amazing that the origin of the

More good than true

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"You are not to bear false witness against your neighbor." What is this? Answer: We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light. (Luther: The Small Catechism) To speak well of our neighbors, that is the point of the seventh commandment (or the eighth, according to the Orthodox or Reformed reading). There are several aspects of interest here. To begin with, a good reputation is something invaluable for a person. To lose face has always been a disaster, but never has it been such a threat as in the internet era. To ruin someone's reputation has never been as simple to do as it is today. Once suspicion is leveled (about, say, sexual harassment or economic dishonesty) no explanations will suffice to clear one's honor. Even when the allegation is proved to be entirely