My mate Mike posted a short blog post on faith vs. reason. It got me thinking, and so I wrote this comment on his wall. (I liked it so I thought I'd blog it here!)
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I would say that it is unlikely in any decision we make ever do we have the full facts and we are therefore almost never able to make a truly rational decision.
Going to the shops, for example, I put faith in law makers, farmers and owners (to name the few that come to mind) that the product I'm buying is actually healthy, and not going to do damage to me.
And from going to the shops to driving a car, or believing in almost any scientific theory (given I am an Arts graduate and therefore no nothing of science really). I never have the full set of facts so I never make a truly rational decision.
The problem as I see it is people have two sets of criteria for judging what a rational decision is. It seems that it is rational to essentially make any decision that doesn't involve God. We have as much, if not more, evidence for a belief in the Jesus we read about in the Bible as we do for making any number of our daily so called rational decisions.
So like all our decisions a belief in God requires faith. But it is a rational weighing of the best evidence we have before us.
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How does this view of rational thought impact how you read/interpret scripture?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question Joey. This is still a developing thought in my brain so questioning it is good!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the argument that i put forward in relation to faith v reason was aimed at addressing the statement that you can't be rational and be a Christian. I was challenging the presuppositions behind such a statement, by arguing that with such a view of what constitutes a rational decision you would need to say that no decision is every truly rational.
I am saying then, that rational decisions can be made without all the available evidence. And there are certainly decisions that are wise and unwise, even right or wrong. Thinking of the supermarket it is wise to decide that what you buy is safe to eat... It is unwise, wrong even to assume that buying food from a supermarket will kill you.
When it comes to interpreting scripture... I take it that God has given us the Bible as a record of His interaction with humanity in history. There is right and wrong interpretation of the Bible, just as their are right and wrong decisions to be made about the safety of food in a supermarket.
I guess it makes me approach scripture humbly, knowing I'm fallen, but thankfully knowing that in many many areas God has revealed himself clearly to us. He has given us more than enough evidence to make a rational decision to believe in Him, and to know more about His character and why Jesus had to die on the cross etc.
This view of rational thought does not impair ones ability to question others interpretations of scripture and ultimately to call some interpretations wrong.
Maybe that is a helpful response to your question...
"given I am an Arts graduate and therefore no nothing of science really"
ReplyDeleteI found this bit ironic or something - because you used the wrong 'know'.
But on the topic of faith/reason/rational thought etc, you should read Carson's book "Becoming conversant with the Emerging Church" for an interesting discussion of knowledge/epistemology.
Not to be mean or rude but there are better books out there dealing with epistemology than Carson's. If you'd like I'd be happy to recommend some.
ReplyDelete