We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB)
“Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
What Does the Bible Point to on Reason?
In the last blog, we investigated the deficient definition of faith that many people have and as well as learned about trust and reasoning. In light of the assertion by many that Christian faith and rationale thought or reasoning are antithetical let us turn to see if this accusation holds true to what the Bible indicates.
In a paper I authored on faith and reason I submitted, “In a discourse of direction from God in Isaiah 1 he tells us to reason together with him (Isaiah 1:18). The Apostle Paul uses reason in Acts 17:16-34 with Jews, Gentiles, and the educated men in the Areopagus. We are further told to acquire wisdom and understanding in Proverbs 4:5,7. A final reference is from Ephesians 5:1 that instructs people to be imitators of God. If people are made in the image of God, and considering that the Bible is working to convince people of its truth by reason and argument, and God is a rational God one should seek reason rather than reject it as in opposition to faith.”[1]
James Porter Moreland and William Lane Craig submit, “The biblical notion of faith includes three components: notitia (understanding the content of the Christian faith), fiducia (trust) and assensus (the assent of the intellect to the truth of some proposition). Trust is based on understanding, knowledge and the intellect’s assent to truth.” This definition could be applied to other operations in one’s life and faculties. It moves one away from a faith that is purely emotive, which unfortunately is what many churches are promoting and many people are seeking. This is symptomatic of the decline in critical thinking skills that I have personally observed in both vocation and ministry.
Faith is not simply a feeling but is in fact a series of processes as mentioned above. In Matthew 14:31, Jesus indicates faith is the opposite of doubt. This followed Jesus’ call to Peter to step out to him in faith on the water. I submit that Peter had accessible knowledge that he could ground his trust in Jesus in order to step out in faith. Moreland and Craig posit, “In Scripture, faith involves placing trust in what you have reason to believe is true. Faith is not a blind, irrational leap into the dark. So faith and reason cooperate on a biblical view of faith. They are not intrinsically hostile.”[2]
Clark H. Pinnock submits, “Reason describes the mental process of sifting evidence and evaluating arguments, thinking critically about statements that are made, and striving after rational certainty.”[3] Pinnock further indicates how Luke did this as well, “It is clear from Luke’s writings, for example, that faith rests on historical testimony in an important way. He wants Theophilus to be aware of the solid truth character of the gospel (Luke 1:1-4). He also makes it clear that the reason the apostles believed in the resurrection of Jesus was the verifying proofs which Jesus gave them of it (Acts 1:3).”[4] One can surmise the apostles had reasons for their belief and in turn, their faith or trust was complemented by reason. Finally, Matthew 22:37 instructs to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind (emphasis mine).
Reason and Truth
As bad as the world seems to be getting, and trust me I see it too. We, as a human society, have in many areas made some great leaps ahead. However, in other areas, we have rapidly slipped down in the interest of personal autonomy, self-centeredness, and personal relativistic happiness. However, the fact many of us comment on the depravity or twistedness of certain situations indicates we internally recognize that things are not as they should be. Gould in his excellent book Cultural Apologetics submits, “We have a strong (and good) desire to advance justice, protect the poor and oppressed, and meet the needs of all people, but this desire ultimately falls short because we have a disenchanted view of reality and have embraced the corresponding ‘doctrines’ of materialism, hedonism, and utilitarianism. The Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love have been replaced by the modern virtues of tolerance, personal autonomy, and progressivism (that is, a discarding of the oppressive ethical and religious view of the past).”[5]
This disenchanted view of reality has distracted us from truth and reason. In turn, even the world outside the church has not only been disenchanted, but it has also allowed the outside world to believe a lie about faith and reason. It is not to say there is no experiential component to faith, but faith and reason belong together. Take for instance Matthew 22:29 where Jesus is engaged in discussion with some Sadducees and he admonishes them for their error in not understanding scripture or the power of God. Here Jesus provides instruction in having knowledge, but also an experiential component to knowledge.
Reason is found all throughout the Bible and in fact, Christ was even a case maker. Gould’s poignant submission from philosopher Peter Kreeft is instructive, “…Kreeft speaks of three longings of the human soul—truth, goodness, and beauty—and three prophets (or guides or capacities) of the human soul—reason, conscience, and the imagination. Each of these prophets can point to Jesus—the source of our longings for truth, beauty, and goodness, as revealed in the gospel.”[6] Gould elaborates, “Reason guides on the quest for truth. The conscience leads us to goodness. And the imagination transports us toward beauty.”[7] That is correct, reason, your conscience, and even your imagination guide you to the truth.
Clearly, we can see that the Bible, and Jesus, point us to use our mind as well as our heart and soul to love him. They go together and are not mutually exclusive. When one looks at humanity, many of the great follies or tragedies are because of an exclusivist and extreme reaction to circumstances. In the final installment of this topic, we will look a bit at knowing truth and put this topic under some interrogation.
[1] Erich Reule, “The Relationship of Faith and Reason: Not an Antithesis, but a Synthesis” (final paper Faith and Reason class, Liberty University, 2016), 4.
[2] Moreland and Craig, Philosophical Foundations, 18, Kindle.
[3] Clark H. Pinnock, “Faith and Reason” in Bibliotheca Sacra 131, no. 524 (October – December, 1974), 304, accessed October 7, 2016.
[4] Pinnock, “Faith and Reason”, 305.
[5] Paul M. Gould, Cultural Apologetics: Renewing the Christian Voice, Conscience, and Imagination in a Disenchanted World (Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 2019), 28, Kindle.
[6] Gould, Cultural Apologetics, 28-29, paraphrasing Peter Kreeft, Back to Virtue: Traditional Moral Wisdom for Modern Moral Confusion (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius, 1992), 49.
[7] Gould, Cultural Apologetics, 29, Kindle.