...FAITH AND REASON ARE TWO COMPATIBLE REALITIES Introduction In the first stem of discussing the truth validity of this statement, we need to understand the meaning of Faith and Reason. Faith in my own opinion would be the entrusting or bowing oneself to others while Reason would be the use of our intellectual capacities to arrive and certain truths. In about to find the truth validity of faith and Reason being compatible realities, we are going to base on what some Philosophers and Religious people have send about the two to give its validity. As a human being may be defined as the one who seeks the truth, life cannot be grounded upon doubt, uncertainty or deceit. It would constantly be threatened by sear and anxiety. A search so deeply rooted in human nature cannot be completely vain and useless. One does not ask question about something one knows absolutely nothing about scientists who try to explain something will not give up until they find an answer. The same is true for ultimate questions; “the thirst for truthful answers to them is so deeply rooted in the human heart that ignoring them would cast our existence in leopard.” There are different kinds of truths “most depend on immediate evidence confirmed by experimentation, philosophical truth obtained by the speculative power of the human intellectual finally the religious truths of the different religions traditions to some degree grounded in philosophy.” Philosophical truths are not the domain women direct...
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...As Christians, our ultimate authority should be God’s reason. God is the creator of all life, and as believers, He is to influence and have control over all areas of our lives. He is the creator of law, as He created the first laws and revealed them to us in His Word. Roger Bern, A BIBLICAL MODEL for ANALYSIS of ISSUES of LAW and PUBLIC POLICY: With ILLUSTRATIVE APPLICATIONS to CONTRACTS, ANTITRUST, REMEDIES and PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES, 6:103 Regent U. L. Rev. 108 (1995). The authority of God in an individual’s life is mentioned numerous times in the Bible: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10. “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7. It is clear from these verses that God’s reason is the best ultimate authority for an individual. Regarding whether the ultimate authority is different for individuals and society as a whole, it is important to remember the type of society that we live in. Our society today is governed by (mostly) secular leaders. In America, the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States calls for separation of Church and State. U.S. Const. n. (1791). In the case of Everson v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court cited Thomas Jefferson as saying that “the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between Church and State.’” 330 US 855, 91 L...
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...Explain different views of faith and its relationship to reason (30) While we are alive, as believers, our life is a long road where we choose different paths to get us to the right destination; and at the end of the road we will hopefully choose the path, which gets us to the proof of God’s existence. However the faith we use to get us to the end must be meaningful. Faith is hard to define, before making assumptions we have to be very clear on what we think it is. Faith is very different from knowledge, when we know something for a fact for example 1 + 1 = 2, we don’t question it on being false, this is where faith can be mistaken. But believers do not generally live questioning themselves on their faith, they hold their beliefs of the existence of God as strongly as scientists know the earth is round, with reasons for believing its true. Faith can be divided into two types, propositional faith and non-propositional faith. Propositional faith is the belief that there is an objective reality to which we give the term God, and that we can make claims about him, which are objectively true. Whereas non-propositional faith is a trust in God, which may be held even, when evidence or experience would seem to point against it. This kind of faith must be based in some personal knowledge of God, and not simply in the acceptance of facts about him. Propositional faith has certain attributes to our knowledge about the world for example the believers who believe in a God who...
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...Dialogue between Faith and science assignment: What is the kind of relation between faith, and reason or science ? General: The discoveries we make through science make the people think and ask questions about his identity, sometimes they even change ones ideas about himself. We see for example that by Copernicus revolution about astronomy the people got to know that they are not living in a world that is not found at the centre of the universe, to the contrary to what was thought before but we live in a planet amongst many others. The theory of revolution of Charles Darwin taught people that we are a member of many different species of animals. These discoveries challenge us to think about the world in general, life and humans in a different way. Nowadays faith cannot forget reason and psychology has to be taken with the importance it needs. During this assignment as indicated by the title we are going to see the relationship between faith and psychology (reason). First we start by showing the type of relationship that can take place between them then we explain how and why they go hand in hand with religion. In the second chapter we see how reason challenges our faith, then conclude by giving some suggestions how reason can contribute with faith. The relation between faith and reason: You cannot actually talk about the relation between faith and reason because there are many psychological reasons like there are religions. Faith cannot be separated from the...
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...Reflection Paper Being able to understand the relationship between faith and reason relies greatly on how you define the two terms. Faith is trust in something, such as belief in the word of God. It is shaped by traditions and several other factors. Reason is a statement that explains a belief or serves as the justification for a particular action. I believe that the two are interrelated. Reason needs faith in the sense that faith is believing in something and reason is the idea(s) that back up the particular belief. Without faith there would be no need for reason. However, faith does not necessarily need reason. For example, biblical faith does not use reason to support unseen beliefs. Followers just trust and have faith in the idea. All ideas require reasons to explain them and faith will come as a result of trusting in the evidence. There are many different factors that have effects on the relationship between faith and reason, such as location, tradition, religion, and ideology. Location plays a significant role in the connection between the two ideas. When looking at different locations, vast changes can be apparent like differing religions, cultures, and personal beliefs. These changes have an effect on faith and the reasons people use to support what they believe to be true. Both tradition and culture are another factor in how faith and reason are interpreted. Faith is shaped by traditions. Cultural beliefs and traditions have a major impact on a...
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...Anselm And Augustine Reason Of Faith Anselm And Augustine Reason Of Faith St. Augustine, who was also far and away the most influential Catholic theologian prior to St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Augustine’s mode of thought indicates perfectly that all knowledge upon all subjects must take into account the revealed truth of Scripture along with the insights of philosophy, since all knowledge is aimed at helping humanity understand God. He declared that “Faith precedes Reason” because unless you believe, you would not understand. St. Augustine like other Early Fathers of the Church, fully welcomed reason which was open to the absolute, and infused it with the richness drawn from Revelation. St. Augustine argued that reason and faith must be in concordance to know the truth and the stages of history. Moreover, he held that both help each other. Faith can help “illuminate” truths for philosophy and reasoning along the way to knowing God, and reason can help faith in understanding the perfections of God. St. Augustine, who was also far and away the most influential Catholic theologian prior to St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Augustine’s mode of thought indicates perfectly that all knowledge upon all subjects must take into account the revealed truth of Scripture along with the insights of philosophy, since all knowledge is aimed at helping humanity understand God. He declared that “Faith precedes Reason” because unless you believe, you would not understand. St. Augustine like other...
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...because God incorporates the contradictory notions of both faith and reason into the law by which he says Adam and Eve must abide. God first commands Adam to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge; this commandment is governed by a required faith on Adam's part in God's righteousness alone. Secondly, God (through implication) commands Adam to live according to his capacity to reason rationally. It is made clear to Adam that the first commandment, having to do with faith, is the primary commandment, since it is the only one God articulates. But, when Adam passes the information on to Eve, he does not make this distinction as clear. He also further convolutes the distinction with other things he says. Thus the order of importance of the two contradictory commandments is lost when told to Eve. Then, In book 9, Satan takes advantage of Eve's lack of information by presenting Eve with a situation wherein the conclusion that rational reasoning would produce is at odds with the conclusion that a blind trust in faith would produce. Eve cannot abide simultaneously by both of God's commandments in this situation. By eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge (as Satan tells her to), Eve is guilty of losing faith, which initiates the "original, mortal sin" (9,1003-4). However, acting reasonably is what Adam tells her is otherwise valued by God and is generally the human connection to the divine. Therefore, while Eve is guilty of losing faith (which she understands as one of God's commandments), she...
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...Whether one believes in God or not, a person must have a reason for his or her belief. There must be a rationale, in some form, that supports the belief or thought process which the individual has. For example, philosopher John Searle does not believe in God, arguing there is not enough available evidence about how the world works to justify such a belief. He does not believe in the supernatural either, but holds that there is, among intellectuals of the world today who have become so secularized, a sense where the existence of God or the supernatural would not matter as much as it would have a century ago. He presents a logic as to why he does not Plato, on the other hand, presents his reasoning for believing in God and/or the supernatural through Socrates discussion with a religious fanatic shortly before his trial in the "Euthyphro." Euthyphro is a young, zealously pious man determined to bring a lawsuit against his own father over the death of one of their servants. When Socrates questions the propriety of proceeding against one's father, rebukes him, asserting that the only relevant question is whether the killer has acted justly. concedes that most people will regard prosecution of one's father on behalf of a hired hand as the height of impiety, but he insists that he understands the will of the gods more plainly and precisely than most. This is the presumption that Socrates questions in the dialogue, and defeats. That same presumption that one...
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...E Leo Whitworth Jr. Dr. C Fred Smith Apologetics 500-D01-LUO April 1, 2015 * What do you think is the best apologetic method and defend your view. * The relationship between faith and reason * A comparison between the evidentialist, presuppositionalist, and experimentalist strategies. In my view, the best argument in apologetics is the evidentialist method. This method argues that the most significant historical events in Christianity- particular the resurrection of Jesus are matters that can be established through proper historical argumentation, even apart from any prior arguments for the existence of God. Instead of trying to prove the existence of God through some form of rational proof, the evidentialist attempts to prove the existence of God through the truth of scripture and then using that truth to prove the existence and nature of God. To do this the evidentialist has to successfully defend his understanding of past events and his interpretation of texts and historical theories and ideology. The evidentialist also assumes a shared view of experiences, scientific theories, and the general rules of logic when engaging a skeptic, and there has to be some shared study and common ground of the nature and philosophy with the unbeliever to have a meaningful discussion. One of the advantages of being an evidentialist you can argue both for theism and for Christian theism at the same time without recourse to an elaborate natural theology. For instance...
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...a branch of Christianity that deals with the aspect of defending the Christian faith against those who care to attack us. Apologetics comes from the Greek word “apologia” or in Greek: ἀπολογία which when translated mean a “defense especially of one's opinions, position, or actions”. Apologetics is therefore in reference to Christianity is a field in which apologists provide rational arguments with adequate information in order to defend their faith against objects provided by members of the secular society....
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...historical Jesus in which two approaches, “Christology from Above” and “Christology from Below arose. Christology from above, associated closely with Rudolf Bultmann, Karl Barth, and Emil Brunner, was born from the idea that rather than studying the historical Jesus as a man, the best study would be of the resurrected Christ, His works and the relationship established by faith from His disciples. The ideas of this approach include: 1. The kerygma regarding Christ is a better basis for understanding than the historical account of His life. 2. Paul’s writings and the Book of John are preferred for study over the Synoptic Gospel’s historical accounts. 3. Faith in Christ is not contingent on rational proof. Brunnner does not concede a need to study the historical account of Christ’s life with respect to His different facets, one as God becoming incarnate in the flesh and the other revealed by Christ after the flesh. Brunner asserts the study of Christ in the flesh gives us greater insight to His Person in a historical sense than the alternative of Christ after the flesh which necessitates faith to fully comprehend. Therefore, the “Christology from above” approach takes church’s proclamation of Christ with the testimonies of “Christ after the flesh” with the study of Scriptural accounts of Christ for a better understanding of Him. Another approach to discover the historical Jesus came in reaction to Bultmann’s assertion that the kerygmatic Christ cannot be linked to...
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...Once again, I am blown away by the sheer wisdom God has given C.S. Lewis. In the selection we read, Lewis explains His definition of faith and explains what he believes we have reason for. He first explains that faith and reason seem to have to work together. Lewis asks people to not just follow Christianity if they feel that it does not make sense. He believes that would contradict faith, giving it one of the first meanings. He also tells the reader to hold onto his faith despite his mood. He reminds us that our moods should weigh very little when we decide what we are going to believe. He explains that we should remind ourselves why we believe what we do by praying, reading the Bible and continously going to church. He also seems to define faith by making it hold hands with humility. He informs us that not until we are at our lowest do we learn about ourselves and that just because a man is good it does not meam he does not know tempation. Only Jesus knew the extent of temptation and we know He is the definition of perfection. Faith should remind us that everything we do for God will never be enough. Just like a child asking for money to buy his parent a gift, we use the gifts He gives us to show Him our love back! Lewis also shames my definition of reason by saying that anything we don't understand we should just move on from. He asks us not to dwell on Christian writings and even anything he says if we don't understand what he's talking about right now to not dwell on it...
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...Proslogian, this argument was created, as stated by Anselm, to re-inforce faith but not proves God’s existence, this is stated by Anselm as Proslogian is a supplementary prayer book. However the argument itself does border on trying to proves gods existence, this argument is as follows: God is a being that which no greater can be conceived, a being that exists in reality is better than one that just solely exists in the mind, therefore god must exist in reality. Anselm himself argued that even through reason, those without faith could not truly understand god, as Anselm stated that the argument was never meant to for faith upon someone but this argument itself was only for the reassurance of faith, he himself already accepts gods existence. Anselm considered that reason alone can lead to error and therefore has to be supported by faith as it is only through faith that greater understanding can be achieved. if the believer accepts there is god then the ontological argument may be a valid argument that god’s existence is necessary. In the same way a triangle has 3 sides, for a believer that believes they understand the concept of god then for them god exists to quote Anselm: “For I believe this too, that ‘unless I believe I shall not understand’”. Therefore Anselm himself believes that it does not actually prove anything unless you have this preconceived notion about the existence of god, this is also known as faith. Karl Barth supports the idea that the argument in itself was to not...
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...Human Beings, religious or not, posses the innate desire to ask questions and seek answers, specifically with regards to what they can perceive, as said to Socrates in Plato’s “Apology”, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. People constantly seek justifications for their experiences, and this can take many forms, however, in order to receive full rationalization one must turn to faith. Unless a society advocate religious freedom, one can not fulfill their visceral yearning for purpose and understanding of the world that encompasses them. When answering secular questions, one must use a priori ways of thought. However, when the questions examine the aspects of natural laws, one must turn to a posteriori thought, a method of logic deriving...
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...His family was a huge encouragement to him to be in the same religion and lean from the bible. However as he read and studied the bible he found himself doubting it and even in God. Unlike the 1832 version the 1838/39 “First Vision” Joseph Smith was not involved in any of the churches, and never doubted God but rather found his answer in the bible. Also in this hand written version Joseph Smith was not seeking faith and revelation rather he had lost faith and hoping to have a revelation of God. Joseph smith said that during this time it was not wise to say there is no God, therefore seeking revelation was important. Lastly the visions were different. In 1832 Joseph Smith accounts of his vision was of Jesus Christ appearing to him and telling him not to join any churches, unlike his 1838/39 vision where God and Christ appeared to him; which drifts his image from a faith follower to a sinner and faith seeker. Each difference then brings the question why they are...
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