How should a Christian view the relationship of faith and reason?

Answer

Atheists frequently criticize Christians regarding the concept of faith and its role in a Christian’s belief system. For instance, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “When faith is elevated above everything else, it inevitably leads to discrediting reason, knowledge, and patient inquiry: the path to truth becomes forbidden. Faith entails not desiring to know what is true” (The Antichrist, 1888, § 52).

Similarly, the atheistic philosopher Peter Boghossian, in his book A Manual for Creating Atheists, distinguishes faith from reason, stating that faith is “pretending to know things that you don’t know” and “belief without evidence” (Pitchstone Publishing, 2013, p. 23–24). He describes faith as “an unreliable epistemology” and a “virus.”

Both Nietzsche and Boghossian are mistaken in their claims about faith and its connection to reason and truth. They present a distorted reinterpretation of faith and incorrectly argue that it serves as an epistemology (a system or study of how knowledge is acquired). Faith, when properly defined, is trust built upon prior information. Reason is a component of the process used to gather information and assess the validity of truth claims.

In the Scriptures, reason and faith are depicted as working together in various instances. For example, in the book of Acts, the author mentions six times (Acts 17:2,17;18:4,19, 19:8,9) that the apostle Paul “reasoned” or was “reasoning” with his audiences. Furthermore, in Acts 9:29, Paul is “arguing” with his opponents; in Acts 14:1, he “spoke in such a manner” that a large number of unbelievers were converted; in Acts 17:3, the apostle is “explaining and providing evidence”; in Acts 18:5, he is “solemnly testifying,” also mentioned in Acts 20:21 and 28:23; in Acts 19:8, Paul is “persuading”; in vers

At 26, his opponents admit that Paul has “persuaded” people; in Acts 20:2, he gives “much exhortation”; and in Acts 28:23, the apostle is “explaining” and attempting to “persuade.”

The use of reason and logical argumentation like that of Paul results in one of two outcomes—rejection or acceptance, with the latter being where faith comes in.

Regarding faith, the definitions atheistic philosophers use are foreign to the true biblical meaning of the term. In the Greek New Testament, the word pistis is used, which is a noun that comes from the verb peitho, meaning “to be persuaded.” According to the best Greek lexicons, the word translated “faith” means “a state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted”; “trust, confidence, that which evokes trust”; “reliability, fidelity; pertaining to being worthy of belief or trust.” The same is true of the Hebrew term for “faith” (ěměṯ), which denotes “firmness, trustworthiness, constancy, duration, and truth.”

Faith is summed up in Hebrews 11:1 this way: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith relies on “substance” and “evidence” as in the way a husband has complete faith and trust in his wife, although he may not be able to demonstrate that faith in an empirical manner to others.

In the end, the proper way to view reason and faith is to understand that faith is a trust given in response to acquired knowledge, and that arriving at faith involves reason and a commitment to the truth.