Rev. Todd J. Kilburn
Dartmouth College
Rollins Chapel, April 12, 2007 – 12:30 pm.
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.
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