A catholic once said to me that feith should be blind...?

Question

then why we were given intelect?

Answer 1

There is no such thing as blind faith, that is a synonym for stupidity. Faith is always based on some form of information. I have faith that this keyboard I am pecking at will cause words to be displayed on the screen in front of me. That belief is based on the fact that it has worked for years prior. Francis Schaeffer has written a great piece on what faith really is in the appendix to "He is There and He is not Silent."

Answer 2

Hi,

When you join any religion you should study what it is all about and especially the background and qualifications of its leader. I wish people had done as much for Jim Jones or the Davidian cult.

As you surmise, God has also given us the gift in intellect and reason as well as faith and the two should not be in opposition or conflict with one another. When you use your intellect you will either reject your particular faith or come out 10x stronger in it than before. Things like squabbling over evolution, science or the universe is a total waste of time since we shall be judged on what we did for our brothers and sisters and not whether we believed Adam rode dinosaurs.

Mike K

RC

Answer 3

Contrary to the views of critics, Jesus Christ was a brilliant thinker, who used logical arguments to refute His critics and establish the truth of His views. When Jesus praised the faith of children, He was encouraging humility as a virtue, not irrational religious trust or a blind leap of faith in the dark. Jesus deftly employed a variety of reasoning strategies in His debates on various topics. These include escaping the horns of a dilemma, a fortiori arguments, appeals to evidence, and reductio ad absurdum arguments. Jesus use of persuasive arguments demonstrates that He was both a philosopher and an apologist who rationally defended His worldview in discussions with some of the best thinkers of His day. This intellectual approach does not detract from His divine authority but enhances it. Jesus high estimation of rationality and His own application of arguments indicates that Christianity is not an anti-intellectual faith. Followers of Jesus today, therefore, should emulate His intellectual zeal, using the same kinds or arguments He Himself used. Jesus argumentative strategies have applications to four contemporary debates: the relationship between God and morality, the reliability of the New Testament, the resurrection of Jesus, and ethical relativism.

Answer 4

Faith does not have to be blind.

Human reason is the spark of the divine within us. It is our capacity to know the truth of things.

One thing that make us human is our ability to think our way through to convictions (or strong beliefs). So reason and faith cannot be in conflict.

True faith
+ Is reasonable faith
+ Makes sense
+ Can be proposed as reasonable to others

In 1998, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter on the relationship
between faith and reason called "Fides et Ratio": http://www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0216/_INDEX.HTM

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

Well, you've brought up one big difference between some of those who are religious and those who are not. Many of us see the two as being mutually exclusive.

But there are those who believe in God, yet don't deny the scientific view of the Universe. Personally, I don't even understand that point of view. But at least they're not covering their eyes and ears and saying "No! No! No!". So, my hat's off to them.

Answer 6

Belief in God is not blind faith, there is overwhelming evidence of God’s existence.
the Bible appeals to our powers of reason. It does not demand blind faith or credulity. In fact, it defines true faith as “the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” (Hebrews 11:1) In the Bible, God gives us a sound basis for faith. The soundness of that basis becomes more and more evident as we grow in knowledge of God’s Word and see its truth at work in our own lives and in the fulfillment of its prophecies.—Psalm 34:8-10.

Answer 7

Is that supposed to be faith?
Faith is blind.
We were given intelect to destroy the earth so god does not have to.

Answer 8

Mankind is given an intellect to understand the things on earth.
We were given faith to understand the things of God.

Hebrews 11:1
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Answer 9

How can you have faith without a logical reason to base it on ?
Do you think blind faith will with stand an onslaught ?

Answer 10

Faith is blind.

There is no basis for it and much evidence that it is a useless pursuit. There is NO indication, scientific or mathematic, that god exists, so those who believe are wearing blinders. They have faith - even in the face of reality.