The Tension Between Faith and Reason

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Entering the ancient discussion about the tension between faith and reason is not an easy task. Of course, when engaging in tensions it is always important to define terms. For the sake of consistency I will refer to Oxford’s online dictionary for both the definition of faith, as well as reason. Faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” Reason is “a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event.” These are the definitions that will be used throughout this paper. From the above definitions, the conclusion that is logically deduced is that reason precedes faith.
The common conception seems to be that faith can be unreasonable. Therefore, faith cannot precede reason. It is important to make a distinction between the concept of “unreasonable,” and the concept of “without reason.” Unreasonable means “not guided by or based on good sense.” Considering a previous definition, “without reason” would be without an explanation or justification. Whereas “unreasonable” implies explanations or justifications, however, the quality of these reasons will be poor.
If one holds to the above definition for reason, then one will be inclined to agree that reason must precede faith. Allow an illustration. Laura is sitting on a chair. Micah asks Laura if she believes that the chair will support her. Laura exclaims, “Of course it will!” “But how do you really know?” asks Micah. “Every chair I have sat in has supported my weight and I have no reason to believe this time will be any different.” Laura states. It is obvious that Laura’s faith in the chair was preceded by either conscious or subconscious reason. Further evidence is found in further reason. The original philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, both believe...

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Clarck, S. L. (1984). From Athens to Jerusalem: The Love of Wisdom and the Love of God. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Dawkins, R. (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Harcourt Publishing.
Gelwick, R. (1977). The Way of Discovery. New York: Oxford University Press.
Greenspan, P. (2003). Emotions, Rationality, and Mind/Body. In A. Hatzimoysis (Ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Habermas, J. (2010). An Awareness of What is Missing: Faith and Reason in a Post-Secular Age. (C. Cronin, Trans.) Frankfurt: Polity Press.
Lewis, C. S. (1952). Mere Christianity. New York: HarperCollins Publishing.
Marsden, G. M. (2003). Jonathan Edwards: A Life. New Haven: Yale University Press.
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