God and Reason (2)
Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!” But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason.” Acts 26.24, 25
Reason, faith, and God
The challenge that Christians and Christianity are not reasonable—a challenge we are not unfamiliar with in our day—begs a larger and more fundamental question: Is God reasonable? That is, can we understand the way God “thinks”? Are His reasons accessible to our reasoning ability? Can we weigh and consider God’s reasons for this or that? Can we know God by means of reason? Are there good reasons for believing in Him? Or is reason contrary to faith? Can reason be a tool of faith? A hindrance to it? And what is the relationship between reason—the human ability to figure things out logically—and divine revelation?
All these questions were sparked in my mind as a result of reading Roger McCann’s article, “Is God Irish?”, which appeared in a back issue of Philosophy Now magazine (Sept., 2012).Mr. McCann provides a helpful overview and summary of various attempts to prove the existence of God by the use of reason alone. His inquiry is not limited to Christian efforts to know or justify the existence of God; he looks at the question from the perspective of other religions, as well as from a strictly philosophical point of view.
Mr. McCann arrives at what might appear to be contrary conclusions: First, he does not believe that we are likely to be able to provethe existence of God by reason alone; at the same time, his reasoning leads him to believe that “God is more likely to exist than not to exist.” Furthermore, he explains, this doesn’t mean that reason can lead us to a clear understanding of the nature of God or whether there are more gods than one.
An exercise in reason?
Now this is the kind of quibble and hedge that we might expect from a philosopher. Readers are left to decide for themselves, using their own reason, whether Mr. McCann’s conclusions are reasonable. In the end, as with so much of contemporary philosophical thinking, Mr. McCann’s argument is a kind of intellectual game without any real significance—an exercise in reason per se, but not one intended to change minds or lives.But it is not my intention to debate Mr. McCann or to respond to his conclusions. Instead, I want us to take the subject of his article seriously and, acknowledging the importance of this subject, see what we can learn about the place of reason in the life of faith.
Mr. McCann’s article throws a gauntlet at the feet of the believing community. We like to believe ourselves to be a reasonable people, with a faith and worldview that can stand up to intellectual scrutiny. But for this to be the case, we shall need to make sure we understand the role of reason in religion, and whether it is possible to make any cogent conclusions about God, belief, and the life of faith, on the basis of reason.
Our project
In installments that follow, we will consider a series of questions concerning the relationship between God and reason; and we will explore the implications of this relationship for the practice of faith. We will investigate the following questions:
Is God reasonable?
Can people know God by the use of reason?
Should Christians expect that reason will help them to grow in the knowledge of God?
Is there a role for reason in the work of evangelism?
Is reason useful in seeking to gain the benefit of divine revelation?
What role exists for reason in constructing a Christian worldview?
In considering these questions we will see that, in each case, the answer is “Yes” and “No.” Reason, we will see, is an important component of a full and lively faith. But reason does not circumscribe the limits of faith, and can be, in certain circumstances, an obstacle to faith and to knowing God.
The overall objective of this study of God and reason is twofold. First, I hope to stimulate readers’ love for God and His Word, and to provoke them to greater enjoyment of the salvation we have by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We will see that reason has an important role in helping us to achieve these outcomes, so long as we use reason reasonably.
Second, and closely related to the first objective, I hope to encourage readers in the right and full use of reason as a most valuable gift for seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. The better we understand the role of reason in the life of faith, the more we might be inclined to use reason in seeking the Lord and His Kingdom. And thus, the more likely it will be that we will live our faith out of the perspective of the mind of Christ, which we have by grace through faith, and not as the result of reason.
Christians need not fear reason, nor the charge that our faith is not reasonable. And we must not fall into the muddle of philosophical notions about reason and unreason. We can know the words of truth and reason, and in knowing them use them fruitfully for Christ and His Kingdom.
For reflection
1. Why did Festus think that Paul was being unreasonable? That he was out of his mind?
2. Peter said we should be always ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us (1 Pet. 3.15). What reasons would you give for believing the Gospel?
3. Are reason and faith opposed to one another? Complementary to one another? Explain.
Next steps—Conversation: Talk with the Lord about the role of reason in your relationship with Him. How should reason work to strengthen your faith and make you more like Jesus? What is the relationship between the Word of God and “words of truth and reason”?
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
An excellent companion to this study is our book, If God Be True, which is free as a PDF download by clicking here.
This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. In our Crosfigellteaching letter, we are studying examples of the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. And in our daily Scriptorium column we are working our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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