Can faith and reason co-exist? We live in a culture that indicates to us that these two polar opposites can exist in harmony as long as one does not try to influence the other, because, after all, faith is not reasonable, and reason cannot include faith. We create a great wall of divide between the two, making sure that we understand each has its own area of connection.
It is as if faith and reason are two boxers engaged in a pugilistic battle, only to have brief periods of respite when the bell rings, civility breaks out and the two combatants must go to opposite corners. Bloodied and ever engaged in this struggle, they hear the bell calling them to and once again emerge, constant opponents.
Why? I think because we define them something like this:
Reason is the ability to make decisions by using tangible, concrete evidence.
Faith is then often defined as making a choice based on some kind of spiritual decision which is devoid of reason. Faith is seen as something purely internal and subjective, and thus is the antithesis of reason.
But could they possibly co-exist together? Can a reasonable person express faith and vice versa? I do not claim to be the final arbiter of truth, but I would like to share some thoughts on the coordination of faith and reason.
When my son was younger, there times I would ask (in a most parental way) him to clean his room. He would come down after being there for a while and I would ask him, “Did you clean your room?” He would always give me his best smile and say, “Yes!” I would check his room only to discover that “clean” had a very different definition for him than it did for me.
Definitions are significant.
Thus -- First, I believe it is important how we define faith. Most people I know think that faith is believing in something without having any foundation for believing it. They see faith as an act of will, but rarely connected with a conscious effort to reasonably consider the content of what one is believing.
This is not the Biblical presentation of faith. It seems to me, a Scriptural definition of faith is “trusting God to do what He promised.”
It is not a blind leap into a dark chasm of wishfulness. It is not closing my eyes and repeating something in the expectation it will happen if I just wish hard enough. Faith is not a foolish and unsubstantiated decision.
Faith is a conscious decision to trust God to do what he said He would. The debate among persons of faith is what criteria to use to determine this, and that is a topic I shall not try to develop in my ten minutes.
Second, I believe it is important to understand how the Bible describes faith. Hebrews 11:1, our passage for the day, says that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith substantiates that which we know is ahead…Faith gives substance to the future. It makes substantive the unknown.
And it is that which “stands under” what we cannot see. We desire proof, and faith provides the proof. Faith is evidence…proof for the unseen. The word used in the old King James text is “evidence.” The word was used of contracts or deposits or a title or deed. It was a legal term meaning that while it was not the final action, it was the document which secured a business relationship. Faith is the evidence of things which we are unable to witness. Faith is then is the guarantee on which we depend.
This indicates to me that faith is not a lack of evidence. It is a distinct form of evidence.
Therefore, thirdly I think it is important how we develop faith. I do not think faith is something that requires us to disregard reason and thoughtfulness. It seems to me that this description indicates this very valid truth: Faith makes reasonable that which would otherwise be unreasonable. Faith is not an abandonment of reason; it seems to me it is an acceptance of data that supersedes what we can see and measure.
Hebrews 11 is filled with examples of people like Noah, who had never seen a flood, but when God said, “Build an ark, for I will destroy the earth with a flood,” that was enough for Noah.
Verse 30 reminds us that Joshua and Israel marched around the city of Jericho one time every day, and then seven times on the seventh day…a rather foolish strategy, but it worked. Why? Because in Joshua 6, God said if they did this, victory would be theirs.
Hebrews 11 is filled with stories of people who made a conscious, rational choice. That choice was that believing God was the wisest and most reasonable course of action. Abraham left Ur; Moses confronted Pharaoh; Abel offered the appropriate sacrifice.
Hebrews 12 then tells us that we should set aside the things that keep us from progress and look to Jesus, who is the author and finisher (completer) of our faith.
His record? For the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. This was His example – to accept the cross knowing that there was more beyond.
Faith makes reasonable that which would otherwise be unreasonable.
In conclusion… I believe that faith is defined as “taking God at His word.”
I believe faith is the foundation which allows us to make decisions that might not otherwise make sense.
As I read the Scriptures, I see that faith is not an abandonment of reason. Faith is using a different set of data and evidence to make a reasoned and thoughtful decision.
The challenge to the person of faith involves making a conscious effort to study, to reason and to make realistic choices to live a life that is driven by a different standard of evidence.
Can faith and reason co-exist? I believe they can, and do indeed do so, and make far better dance partners than they do combatants.
