Can people of faith never understand reasoning rationality because they think faith can sidestep it?

Question

If you believe you can escape from logic, reason and rationality when it suits you or your faith you cannot have a real understanding of logic, reason and rationality can you?

Reply to Peter C:
Most scientists only speak of God in the metaphorical sense, it is often misinterpreted by theists, Einstein for instance:
"I don't try to imagine a personal God; it suffices to stand in awe at the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it" (Albert Einstein)

Answer 1

It is called willful ignorance.

Answer 2

When given the option of either reason or faith, reason should always take precedence. Much ignorance and strife have come as the result of ignoring reason. As another answerer stated above, faith is groundless, faith is dogma. Reality doesn't care about your beliefs, and it has a way of smacking you upside the head if you ignore it in favor of your own beliefs. Reason is grounded in reality; faith is a shot in the dark that sometimes hits, sometimes misses, and sometimes misses big-time. Oh, and to those who said that reason can't solve everything, that there are too many "unseens" in the world: technically that's true, but that still doesn't mean you should set aside reason. If we were to forgo reason at every unknown, we'd still be as ignorant as the savages of 2,000 years ago. It is through reason and rationality that we can turn the unknown into the known. That's something faith can never do.

Answer 3

No matter what your beliefs, at some point there will be a "point of faith".

Even in logic and science, you eventually come to a point where you are unable to uncover an underlying reason. For every logical conclusion there is another question:

For example: Q: Why do I fall down? A: Gravity

Follow-up Q: Why is there gravity? A: The relative mass of the earth to the space around it causes a divot in the fabric of spacetime... Or... for those of faith: God

So it's not that there an inherent irrationality to faith, more a lack of curiosity to dig deeper.

That said, there is a tendency toward denial within that mentality, since those who have concluded something based on faith are often confronted by an alternative and logically reasoned answer, yet choose to adhere to the simpler answer.

Faith is about being comfortable in life. When a person's belief is challenge at a fundamental level, they become naturally defensive, since their entire mindset is being challenged. Personally, I enjoy the challenge of having my assumptions broken down.

Others do not, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. (e.g. intelligent design vs. evolution)

Answer 4

Many people misunderstand the concept of faith... faith itself is merely belief, and in the context of religion, it is the faith in things that logic, reason and rationality may not be sufficient to understand. Logic, reason and rationality deal primarily in the physical and the natural, while religion deals primarily in the meta-physical and supernatural, and while it is possible to make inferences from the natural world (using logic and reason) about the supernatural, it is impossible to prove anything within mathematical certainty about the supernatural.

That is where faith comes in. Faith is what bridges the gap between what our logic tells us, and mathematical certainty. Since aspects of the supernatural cannot be proven to mathematical certainty, we then have faith about that aspect of the supernatural based (hopefully) on the information that logic and reason have provided us with. Granted, faith can in fact run contrary to logic and reason, but it does not do so by nature.

For example, there are many other things that cannot be proven out to mathematical certainty. We cannot prove that O. J. Simpson was guilty, and yet many people believe it on faith. We cannot prove that life on earth is the result of abiogenesis and macroevolution, but many people believe it on faith. And, in a similar manner, we cannot prove most things about the supernatural because it transcends that which is natural, and things that are true for the natural realm (which we are limited to) may not be true for the supernatural; thus logic and reason, while useful, cannot conclusively prove anything about the supernatural. Regarding the supernatural, logic and reasoning can only provide us with circumstantial evidence; we must judge that evidence for ourselves, and then accept some claim about the supernatural on faith.

Answer 5

This is sort of an skewed question becasue it seperates reason and faith. The two are different, but they work hand-in-hand. Each one tempers the other. Faith without reason becomes fundamentalism and reason without faith leads to depair and coldness. Never forget that the greatest scientist were men of faith. Galileo was faithful (most of the Church supported him, believe it or not), Gregor Mendel (genetics) was a monk, Issac Newton was an ordined Anglican priest. Einstein had a strong beleif in God. Reason and faith are brothers, not enemies.

Answer 6

Yes.

The thing about faith is that it doesn't go contrary to rationality. Godly things can never be proven or disproven, either one. (Contrary to attempts by many Christians and Non-Christians alike)

Continue to follow logic and reason and rationality! They are good! Just be aware enough of the Christian beliefs (and arguments) so that you don't dismiss what you haven't tested for yourself.

I went through much of my life believing more in logic, and my sister more in faith. I was both full of pride about being logical and secretly riddled with jealousy that I wouldn't be more stupid so that I could have faith!!!

It took a long time for me to see that God appreciated my logic and did not run contrary to it. I found that He is the author of reason, and there are rewards in different types of people. But he can't be reached by logic alone, it requires a leap of faith.

Aren't you glad that God is a God who loves us equally,
if we are born with less mental capacity or we lose our rational capabilities through some illness or accident
if we are an average thinkier
if we are super genius.
Praise be.

Answer 7

I liked the answer about either extreme being dangerous.

So, spoken in moderation - I've always believed that faith can expand ones logic.

For example: If I act on faith and follow one of God's teachings (lets say to be kind to my family) and then I find through my own experimentation that the results are good, and that I am happier, then I have gained that piece of logical knowledge: IF I am nice to my family THEN I am happier...and then as a consequence of gaining that knowledge, I find it worth my time and effort to further experiment with principles of faith.

Hope that made sense.

Answer 8

It is not a matter of sidestepping rationality or the reasoning process, or even an escape from an inexorable reality; but if you take logic to its furthest point, it begins to break down and look ridiculous and cease to apply to practical problems anymore. Faith allows one to step beyond reason, but I am not one to throw reason out the window. It has its uses, but it is not a sinecure.

Answer 9

Faith builds on reason, it does not contradict it.


Three laws of reality must always be observed:

(1) The law of *identity*: A thing is what it is, not necessarily what we wish or believe.

(2) The Law of *Non-Contradiction:* The same thing cannot simultaneously exist and not exist. No rationality is possible without this, because to come to a given truth, you have to exclude its contradictory.

(3) The principle of *sufficient reason:* Anything that exists, happens, or is true must have a sufficient reason for being so. Nothing can exist, happen, or be true for simply no reason.


Faith is to reason as a telescope is to an eye.

The telescope does not destroy vision, but allows us to see what we could not see with the naked eye.

Similarly, faith does not destroy reason, but allows the intellect to see truths that the unaided reason cannot see alone.


All reason and the laws of reality have their ultimate source in God, who is defined as Being without limitation.


God calls Himself "I AM" not "I Am such and such."

He simply IS, without a qualifier, which denotes that He has no limits.





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Answer 10

I as a Christian never seek to "sidestep" logic. I just look to God's often seemingly illogical word before understanding it. And what has often been my experience is that when I have walked by faith, then understanding has come afterwards. It's not that Christians are against logic....its just that God's wisdom is so far superior to ours....we are wise to trust in Him, and not lean on our own limited understanding!

Answer 11

Where there faith is concerned,logic,reasoning and rationality simply do not exist.
They would rather continue to believe what they hope to be true than accept facts or logic.