Faith and Reason

Included in my post-retirement (emancipated living) activities have been auditing classes at WSU.  At this point, I have taken six philosophy courses.  Although all of these were in the specialty of moral philosophy, I have renewed my interest in philosophy in general.  For the past 15-20 years, I have also been interested in theology and biblical studies.

While theology is based on faith, philosophy is based on reason.  Theological faith implies faith in a divine entity whose existence cannot be proved to the satisfaction of philosophers.  This is the primary reason many philosophers are agnostic or atheistic.  God cannot be directly observed and any effects attributed to God cannot be proven.  Pascal's wager does not seem to influence many modern philosophers.  For these reasons, many think theology and philosophy are incompatible.

The question -- are the two paradigms incompatible, or are they complementary?  Should a person base his life on one or the other?  Apparently, this is what many theologians and philosophers do.  I believe this represents a limited micro-paradigm.  Engaging in philosophical theology is a third alternative.

Philosophy, based on reason, involves the mind intellect).  A question debated by philosophers for centuries:  is the mind material (the brain), non-material, or both.  This question is particularly important in the discipline of philosophy of mind.  Theology, based on faith, involves the spiritual component.  Those who accept the existence of spirituality generally agree that the spiritual supercedes, but interacts with, the intellect.

Integrity, at it's basic level, means completeness or undividedness.  This is a process that involves unification of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual components with a synergetic result.  When one or more components are deficient, the p;person would not be of high integrity.  John Wesley apparently had no problem with integration of the spiritual/intellect.  Reason and experience make up 50% of his quadrilateral.  High integrity results when all  aspects of a person are working in a highly functional system, interrelating with the world and God.

Within Christianity, such a person is often called a "thinking Christian."  John Cobb, Jr. wrote an entire book on this subject.  I have found, through personal experience as well as observation of others, that relating rationality to faith generally increases ones faith.  For this reason, I strongly believe that Christian education (for adults) should be based on this approach.

Comments

[Barry]

I once had someone ask me if I was good at debate. She was trying to argue her husband into the faith but he was too smart and she kept losing the battle. She thought with my education in theology that I had a better shot at winning. My only response was that I have never found anyone who is argued into a belief in God. However I have met many people who were loved into a relationship with God. Love like faith is not something that can be proven, yet most people would accept that love exists. I would have to agree that we must find a way to combine faith and reason. I have faith that their is a God as well as that love exists, but how does reason connect to faith. I believe that reason is the component of the Wesleyan quadrilateral that holds the whole thing together. Many would argue that the Bible is the foundational element (an argument that I hear loud and clear), but in my theology it is reason that becomes the lense for the Bible, tradition and experience. To quote the book of James, "Faith without reason is dead." Okay, that's no quite what he said, but it works for me.

[Mark Calhoun]

"The question -- are the two paradigms incompatible, or are they complementary?" For me, complementary... So I guess that makes me a big fan of the quadrilateral...Scripture, Tradition, Experience and Reason. All seem equal for building the big picture, but experience leads the way for me. If I can't experience scripture and tradition and if I can't walk through reason in an experiential way, then my reality becomes limited.
On a side note I am of the opinion that multiple disciplines and sub-disciplines are inter-related and quite compatable. To me, the threads of religion, science, philosophy and others all work together to weave the tapestry of reality and truth...
Can integrity serve as an anchor point for all of these disciplines??