by Terry Ivy
Share
FAITH AND REASON - QUESTIONS
Please see (Part 1) before reading through this section. When we seek to understand the relationship between faith and reason, there are several questions which will arise. We mentioned this in the opening section. Let's turn our attention to some of the remaining questions which meet us concerning the compatibility of faith and reason.
1) Do faith and reason oppose each other?
No! We use reason under the illumination of the Holy Spirit to investigate the Word of God in order to come to mature and balanced truths. We use faith to submit and surrender to the truths which godly reasoning has arrived at. Through godly reasoning we do not desire to cast out any part of Scripture, for we know the Spirit and the Word are one. (I Jn. 5:7) We use the truths of God, revealed in the Bible, to come to an understanding about truth, life, meaning, purpose, direction, love and eternity. Reason protects us from embracing false teaching by bringing us to sound doctrine through biblical hermeneutics. Saving faith is when we surrender of our life to those truths!
Faith and Reason work together to protect us from extremes which lead to fanciful beliefs. If reason is unrestrained (e.g. unsubmitted to faith in God's Word and the obvious impetuses from creation and conscience), it will lead to all types of foolish and humanistic conclusions. These will include everything from denying the virgin birth of Christ to denying His resurrection. There are things 'reason' alone cannot prove or disprove, but when it considers all the evidence available, godly reason will deliver a resounding 'amen' to the truth of Christ! Therefore, faith (surrender to) in the truth of God's Word is a fail safe for reason.
Showing posts with label Reason. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reason. Show all posts
March 16, 2010
Faith and Reason (Part 1)
by Terry Ivy
Share
Throughout church history man has struggled with the battle between faith and reason. Most struggles end with one being superior, and the other one rejected. Humanists and secularists takes 'reason,' along with sensory experience (physical evidence) as the supreme sources for discovering truth. Many religious groups take 'faith' as supreme to the exclusion of reason. The former gets locked away into an intellectual constipation of sorts, ultimately denying the totality of the design of man. While the later yields to emotional and subjective non-sense with a 'make it up as you go,' religious paradigm.
We must tackle several questions when looking at this subject. What is faith? What is reason? Do they oppose each other? Are they compatible? If so, how? Can they work together to avoid both extremes which takes place when one is upheld at the exclusion of the other? Are there limits to reason? Are there limits to faith? We must properly understand the place of both faith and reason within our perception faculties before clarification concerning their relationship can be stated.
Share
Throughout church history man has struggled with the battle between faith and reason. Most struggles end with one being superior, and the other one rejected. Humanists and secularists takes 'reason,' along with sensory experience (physical evidence) as the supreme sources for discovering truth. Many religious groups take 'faith' as supreme to the exclusion of reason. The former gets locked away into an intellectual constipation of sorts, ultimately denying the totality of the design of man. While the later yields to emotional and subjective non-sense with a 'make it up as you go,' religious paradigm.
We must tackle several questions when looking at this subject. What is faith? What is reason? Do they oppose each other? Are they compatible? If so, how? Can they work together to avoid both extremes which takes place when one is upheld at the exclusion of the other? Are there limits to reason? Are there limits to faith? We must properly understand the place of both faith and reason within our perception faculties before clarification concerning their relationship can be stated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)