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Newsletters
Summer Newsletter, 2004 Volume 1, Issue 3 Faith and Reason Many times in our modern society, faith and reason are presented as two unrelated, often opposing forces: Reason being the force behind great scientific advances, and faith being the force behind generally accepted moral conduct. Faith is tolerated by modern society, but reason alone is considered by many to be the absolute authority in all intelligent inquiry, with faith being more of a superstitious tradition, having no say in scientific matters. But reason without faith leads to a loss of morality. Faith without reason, on the other hand, might lead to superstition. Both are necessary. The relationship between faith and reason is symbolized by the drawings below. The wooden frames represent reason, some polished and refined by education. The picture is truth and our vision of the truth is Faith. Without faith, the wood, no matter how neatly structured and polished, cannot frame or lead us to the truth. With no frame at all around the picture (faith without reason), our eyes might roam everywhere, unfocused and lost. A person with faith but no reason might look for truth everywhere without distinguishing between truth and falsehood. They might believe anything and everything, holding on to superstition, carrying charms and crystals hoping for magic powers. |
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| Obscuring the Vision of Truth In neither of the first two pictures can we see the truth. The first represents someone with no formation or direction of his or her intellect. They live their life gratifying their appetites for food, rest, entertainment and pleasure, and never stop to wonder about the purpose of their life. They lack both the eyes of faith and the tools of reason and so cannot see the truth. The second picture represents the intelligent, highly educated person who has no faith. They have very refined tools of reason, developed and honed, but they have no vision of eternal truth. Their reason is like a highly powered rifle with no sight. It goes off in all different directions. "They have eyes but they cannot see." Without vision they are unable to aim at their target, the goal of all intellectual activity: the truth. In fact, they do not believe there is one target: one truth. Where their bullet lands, that is their bull's-eye; that is their truth. This was original sin: taking the knowledge of good and evil upon oneself. When you make this knowledge your own, you yourself define good and evil. You create your own truth and deny the universal truth. These individuals can be very intelligent and articulate and as such often lead others away from genuine truth with their false reason. Focusing our Minds on Truth This right reason, or wisdom, goes hand in hand with humility: rejecting the pride of self-determined truth and embracing the universal truth of God. The last two pictures represent this balance between faith and reason. The simple frame characterizes someone like Joseph Cupertino who was not very intelligent, but he was wise and so came closer to the truth than many other more intelligent people. The ornate frame reflects the intelligent and wise saints such as Aquinas and Augustine, who through the balanced harmony of deep faith and brilliant intellect bring many who will listen much closer to the truth. Society's Need for Faith Different truths are like the different targets placed wherever one's bullet of reason happens to land. In addition to blinding the individual to genuine truth, it also has ramifications for all of society. We know very well where this line of reasoning leads. Reason without faith promotes the view of man as merely an animal, with no morally right or wrong conduct. Governments take on a utilitarian approach to their citizens. The dignity and worth of the individual is lost. And so we see forced sterilizations in China, mass executions and heartless brutality in The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. "Where there is no God, there is no man either." 2 1 John Paul II, Fides Et Ratio, Sept 14, 1998. Newsletters:
Copyright © 2004 A Drop of Clear Water |
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