Balancing Faith and Reason

I have recently been intrigued by the conversation on campus regarding faith and reason. Now, I don't wish to speak to specific issues on campus or EMU policy, but rather my hope is to offer a perspective regarding the relationship between these two ideologies which seem so fundamental to the mission of a Christian institution of higher learning.

While researching this topic, I ran across a definition of faith that I feel sheds light on the darkness surrounding this issue. According to Webster's dictionary, faith refers to not only trust in, but loyalty to a person or thing, including God; and reason denotes a rational ground on which to stand.

Understanding that Webster's dictionary is by no means the final word on the connotations carried by these terms, I feel that this offers a "rational ground" to stand on. I do feel, however, that the word of God is the definitive source and absolute truth regarding not only our earthly lives, but our relationship with God-both of which this argument pertains to.

What then, does the Bible say concerning faith and reason? Obviously, for time and editorial reasons, I can not pull out all the biblical references that address reason and faith and include them here, but I feel there is one verse in particular that points us in the right direction, encompassing the relationship between these two concepts, that being Proverbs 3:5. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." I fear that our bend toward not acknowledging Him in all our endeavors has brought us to where we are today, because the path we are treading on issues such as this is nowhere close to straight.

If we are to be honest with ourselves and the reading of the Bible, we can do no more than believe it. To the best of my understanding, as this verse clearly states, faith and reason are opposing forces, incapable of taking us in the even the same direction, let alone the correct one. Simply trust what God says through the recorders of His word. This trust has little to do with a blind trust that simply shuns reason and the God-given ability to do so, but instead it refers to a trust that sees faith through the spiritual eyes God gives His children.

We can certainly use our mental faculties in service to God, and indeed reason can enlighten faith, but only when our reason is used to pull meaning from the word of God that enlightens our lives, our thought, and how we view His world. Because if I recall the biblical example of faith being trampled by reason in the case of Eve and the serpent, relying on our intellect to make decisions fit for faith in God only drives us further down the wrong road.

Email: timothy.jones@emu.edu