Define both faith and reason - Essay Example

13 March How can faith and reason be defined? Faith is the of belief in something that is based upon reason, though the sufficiency of reasoning to support the belief may or may not be limited. On the other hand, reason as the name implies, is the justification that is put forth to explain a belief, phenomenon or conception. Reason is normally made up of scientific discoveries of facts or else, it may also be the outcome of an individual’s personal opinion. Reasoning is the name of explanation with justification.

Justification in turn is drawn from universally acknowledged facts and beliefs. Almost always, there is no ultimate reason that can be raised in support of a particular faith. Many reasons can be offered to justify a faith, and there acknowledgement varies from individual to individual depending upon the individual’s way of thinking and perception of the world. Relationship between faith and reason: There is a very strong relationship between reason and faith. Reason is the fundamental element that supports faith but it can never take its place.

It is not possible for faith to exist without any reason, though faith can and does exist quite frequently without the existence of a profound knowledge or reasoning in its support. It is important to note that reason and faith are never antithetical. Reason and faith are never opposite. They are also never mutually exclusive and are hence, inseparable from each other (Albl 1). Therefore, it is quite normal and rational to find reason for having faith. Description of faith: “Biblical faith is having the belief and assurance from God in something that is unseen and/or not yet realized which has some probability of being correct, where the probability is determined using the brain and the intellect as guided by God” (angelfire.com). Therefore, the Biblical faith can not be considered as blind because every issue can be made reasonable with adequate reasoning and justification.

In another way, faith can be described as a belief that may or may not have profound reasoning to reinforce it. Role of reason in Theology: The role and significance of reason in Theology is hard to judge by differentiating between what reason knows and what it does not. Theology discusses several topics, nonetheless, its teachings fundamentally revolve around God, and it is generally believed by the Christians that the reasons humans come up with are insufficient for an accurate understanding and conception of God (Grenz and Placher 12).

One big reason for lack of much room for reason in theology is the fact that humans are finite while God is not. Humans have too little an intelligence to be able to conceive the sense of God. In addition to that, our sinful acts have sapped our capability to develop any idea of God. Although reason does have a fundamental role in theology in that we tend to build our faith in religion upon our beliefs that are in turn supported with reasons, yet we, as humans, have limited capacity to rationalize the reasoning.

Works Cited: Albl, Martin C. Reason, Faith, and Tradition: Explorations in Catholic Theology. USA: Christian Brothers Publications, 2009. Print. Grenz, Stanley J., and Placher, William C. Essentials of Christian theology. USA: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003. Print. “Relationship between Faith and Reason.” n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. .