Minor lesson
The Law of Excluded Middle
A claim is either true or false. Elijah put it to Israel on Mount Carmel, and Jesus speaks of Himself the same way.
October 10, 2026
A claim is either true or false. Either Jesus rose from the dead, or He did not. There is no third option where He partly rose.
This does not mean every question has only two answers. Many questions have more. The law is about one claim and its denial. Either it is so, or it is not so.
Elijah on Mount Carmel
Elijah put this law to the people of Israel:
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him." But the people did not answer a word.
They wanted a middle. Worship the LORD, and keep Baal too. Elijah told them there is none. Either the LORD is God, or He is not. Joshua said the same years before: "choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve."
Jesus Leaves No Middle
Jesus spoke this way about Himself. "He who is not with Me is against Me." "No one can serve two masters." John says, "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned."
Paul staked the whole on one claim. "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." He did not leave room for a faith that works either way. If it is true, it matters more than anything. If it is false, it does not matter at all.
Doubt Is Not a Third Answer
Sometimes we are unsure. That is honest, and the Bible does not hide it. A father once cried to Jesus, "I do believe; help my unbelief!" Jesus did not send him away.
Our certainty can grow and shrink. The claim itself stays true or false the whole time. That is why it is worth looking into.
Where People Go Wrong
The opposite mistake is to offer two choices when there are really more. The disciples asked, "who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned." That was a false choice, not a claim and its denial. It is covered in The False Dilemma.
This is a deeper teaching under The Laws of Logic. Its home is Apologetics.