What is Fideism?

Answer

Fideism is the concept that religious faith and reason are incompatible. It posits that religious faith exists independently of reason and cannot be harmonized with it. According to fideism, faith entails an absolute certainty and personal commitment that surpasses what can be logically justified. Consequently, one should not attempt to find evidence for religious convictions.

A Christian adhering to the principles of fideism would argue that rational and scientific proofs for God are irrelevant because genuine Christianity centers on salvation through faith alone. Human rational faculties have been tainted by sin and are unreliable, and the truths presented in Scripture must be accepted even if they cannot be validated through logic or rationale. Essentially, fideism holds that if the existence of God could be proven, faith would lose its necessity and significance.

Many early discussions on fideism emerged in response to the growing emphasis on human reasoning promoted by rationalism. One of the early proponents of fideism was the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855). He contended that since faith is marked by absolute certainty and fervent personal commitment, it cannot be substantiated by reason.

To support his perspective on the relationship between faith and reason, Kierkegaard presented three arguments, the first being the Approximation Argument. Kierkegaard argued that arguments can never establish things with absolute certainty because there is always a possibility of misinterpreting the evidence or committing a reasoning error. He maintained that as faith demands absolute certainty, which cannot be achieved through rational argumentation, it must always transcend the evidence and, therefore, cannot be rationalized.

His second argument…

One of the arguments presented was the Postponement Argument. This argument is based on the belief that there is always the possibility of new data or evidence that could invalidate previous conclusions. Therefore, if we were to base our faith on rational scientific investigation, we would have to wait indefinitely until all the data is available. To attain the certainty that faith requires, one must opt to believe in what cannot be obtained through scientific inquiry.

His third argument was the Passion Argument. This argument underscores the personal commitment inherent in faith. He believed that since our evidence is imperfect at best, there is a level of risk in accepting any conclusion. He argued that faith that contradicts all known evidence is the most valuable because it involves the greatest risk. His perspective was that if there were conclusive evidence for God’s existence, belief in God would be unremarkable and unstimulating. In essence, if we could demonstrate God’s existence through evidence or reason, faith would be redundant.

Another prominent proponent of fideism was Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. He regarded the various proposed proofs for God’s existence as irrelevant and, instead of dwelling on them, encouraged skeptics to view faith in God as a risk-free choice with potential rewards. Rather than attempting to prove God’s existence, he suggested that it might be beneficial to assume that God truly exists. His argument was essentially presented as a win/win scenario. If you believe in God and He exists, you win; conversely, if you believe in God and He does not exist, you lose nothing. This concept is best illustrated in what is known as Pascal’s Wager: “Either God is or he is not. If you wager he does exist and he doesn’t, you haven’t lost anything. If he does exist, you win everything. Therefore, wager on God. From a rational perspective, faith in God is an even bet, but the existential stakes are significantly high in this context.”

“In favor of having faith.”

Christian fideism presents both strengths and weaknesses. One of its strengths is that it correctly recognizes that rational and logical arguments cannot definitively demonstrate the existence of a transcendent God as revealed in Scripture. It also rightly acknowledges that neither evidence nor reason alone provides a sufficient foundation for faith in God. This is because faith is rooted in the nature of God and the certainty of His promises, rather than in the proof of His existence.

Conversely, a drawback of Christian fideism is that faith lacking in both reason and logic will be as strong as our emotions permit at any given moment. In such cases, the durability of our faith depends on our own emotional state and is likely to fluctuate based on circumstances. In contrast, faith grounded in truth is both rational and logical, supported by various external evidences that reinforce it. Grasping the rational and logical underpinnings of our faith in Christ establishes a firm foundation that enables us to withstand the challenges of life. While we may not scientifically prove God’s existence, we certainly find abundant evidence of His presence solely in creation (Psalm 19:1-3;Romans 1:18-32).