The Relation Between Faith and Reason
I have previously covered the ideas of both biblical faith and reason. As Christians, we must have faith in Christ as the one we serve and in the things He promises. Our faith connects us to Jesus and to other believers, but it also provides hope throughout our lives. Our faith is not blind faith, but rests upon our reason and intellect that engages our minds, allows understanding, and allows us to experience God.
In this post, I will explain how our faith and reason work together to strengthen our relationship with our Creator.
Faith and Reason Work Together
In discussing the differences between faith and reason, many think they are mutually exclusive in the life of a Christian. This is not the case. Faith and reason work together to help the Christian know and understand God. In September 2006, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the faculty of the University of Regensburg. In this address, he brought up an issue with the institutions in the modern West. “The West, he argued, faces a crisis of reason. This crisis stems from a divorce between reason and faith that has deeply shaped the culture and institutions of the modern West, a conflict between the claims of reason and the claims of religious faith that seems to be intensifying rather than diminishing.”[1] Christians in the West should embrace faith and reason and not elevate the status of one above another, for they work together in the life of the Christian.
Faith Brings People to God
Most people do not start their journey as a Christian by looking at the evidence and saying, “That’s true. I believe.” While some become Christians this way, most begin with a faith journey. This journey can start with a situation such as a death in the family or hitting “rock bottom” in life where one cries out to God for help. It can also be through a Sunday school or children’s church program in a local church where a child is led to faith in Christ. These beginning steps of belief blossom into a genuine faith in God. Mckaughan writes, “While it is widely acknowledged that Christian faith involves more than belief, it is also often taken for granted that faith includes beliefs. For example, in The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695), John Locke takes it that, in addition to the call to do certain things such as repent and obey God’s commands, Christians must believe a set of propositions, such as that God exists and that Jesus is the Messiah.”[2] Locke is proving the point that faith and reason work together for the Christian.
Reason Allows One to Understand God
One cannot understand something just by having faith in it. To truly understand something, one must study it and learn about it. This is even more true when it comes to understanding God. While faith can lead one to God, only reason can help one truly understand God. In speaking about the problem with evangelicals, Moreland discusses a conclusion by David Wells, saying, “At core they are hollow men, empty selves. If we as the church are to engender a current of reform throughout our culture, then we need laypeople who are intellectually engaged with their faith and take their Christian identity to be definitive for their self-conception.”[3] If the church truly desires to understand the God they serve, they must not only rely on faith to understand God but also use their intellect to understand and know Him.
The Power of Faith and Reason
Jackson asserts, “Hope is one of the three Christian theological virtues, alongside faith and love. Note that hope is listed next to faith, with no indication that it is subsumed by faith or a backup for those who have lost faith.”[4] Hope and faith work alongside each other within a believer. In discussing Christian faith, Milburn states, “Christian faith is not merely a matter of believing in God or Jesus Christ, but it is also a matter of believing that. For example Christian faith involves believing (at least implicitly) that God exists, that Jesus Christ is truly man and truly God, that Jesus Christ suffered death on the cross and rose again on the third day, etc.”[5] Belief in simply requires faith. Belief that requires faith and reason.
God Has Not Forsaken His People
As Christians go about their lives, it can be easy to fall into the trap that God doesn’t care about His people any longer. All we have to do is look around the world. In America, we see Christian values mocked and labeled as hateful, bigoted, and out of touch. Around the world, we see Christians being persecuted in countries such as China, Nigeria, and India. Below is the 2025 World Watch List by Open Doors US. As you can see, there are many countries where Christians are persecuted around the world.
However, even though there is much persecution happening around the world, I would like to show you a Christian population map from The Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. It shows the population of Christians in 2020, and in many of these persecuted countries, the Christian population is growing.
We must remember that God has not forsaken His people. While our faith may waver during times of persecution, our reason must not. We have seen what God does for His church in the midst of persecution. God’s people have always been persecuted in one form or another, but God has never wavered. It is our faith in Christ that sustains us, yet our reason plays an important role by helping us understand that God has a plan even though we might not see it. Paul tells us that “all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, New Revised Standard Version). So, as you are praying daily, remember those around the world who are being persecuted. If you are struggling right now, remember that God is still in control and has a plan. You might not see it, but know He is there.
“Whenever there has been a great persecution raised against the Christian church, God has overruled it, as he did in the case of Pharaoh’s oppression of the Israelites, by making the aggrieved community more largely to increase.”
Charles Spurgeon “Prosperity Under Persecution”
Conclusion
Many think faith and reason in the life of a Christian are constantly at odds with each other. Some Christians have elevated faith and emotion above reason and intellect. However, faith and reason work together in the life of Christians, leading to a full relationship with Jesus Christ. As stated by Buben, “While reason proper cannot be the path to God, a more emotional rationality of sorts can still be found working within faith; and given the supposed value of evidence, such rationality seems like a valuable partner in the affirmation of faith once it is formed.”[6]
[1] Bruce D. Marshall, “The Flesh of the Logos: Reflections on Faith and Reason,” Nova et vetera 16, no. 2 (2018): 587.
[2] Daniel J. Mckaughan, “Authentic Faith and Acknowledged Risk: Dissolving the Problem of Faith and Reason,” Religious Studies Review 49, no. 1 (March 2013): 103.
[3] J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, 2nd Edition. (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2017), 7.
[4] Jackson, “Belief, Faith, and Hope: On the Rationality of Long-Term Commitment,” 45.
[5] Joe Milburn and Philosophy Documentation Center, “Faith and Reason in the Oxford University Sermons,” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 92, no. 3 (2018): 484.
[6] Adam Buben, “Neither Irrationalist nor Apologist: Revisiting Faith and Reason in Kierkegaard,” Philosophy compass 8, no. 3 (March 2013): 322.