2008 Woodie Awards
Faith and Reason
Complementary Gifts from God
Anthony Tardiff
Issue date: 12/1/07 Section: Faith
One of the most fundamental debates in our society is the argument over the relationship of faith and reason. We live in a world in which scientific advancements have accomplished more than humans in previous centuries ever dreamed. We know more about the operation of the universe than has ever been known before. In this age of the apparent triumph of human scientific reason, what place is there for religious faith, and how does it relate to reason?
There are three fundamental viewpoints on the question. The first, the modernist viewpoint, states that faith limits the scope and abilities of reason, and therefore must be rejected. Atheist scientists like Richard Dawkins famously hold this view. The second viewpoint, the fideist view, claims the exact opposite: scientific reason limits the scope and abilities of faith, and should be rejected. Fundamentalist Protestants often hold this view.
It would seem from these views that faith and reason are in irreconcilable conflict, and that one must choose to ally with one against the other. In fact, both these viewpoints are too limited. There is a third viewpoint: integrationism. According to this view, faith and reason are both positive goods oriented towards the truth, and they must complement rather than contradict each other.
St. Thomas Aquinas is probably the most famous of the integrationists. He agreed with Aristotle that rational thought, the ability to abstract from what is known about a thing to grasp the essence of that thing, is what separates humans from animals. According to St. Thomas, since God created humanity with reason, therefore reason, as a gift from God, must be a positive good. Since the goal of reason is truth, and since the goal of faith, also, is truth, the two cannot contradict each other. There may be things about faith that reason cannot tell us; however, there can be nothing about faith that reason disproves. The two work hand in hand. St. Thomas' seminal work, the Summa Theologica, an amazingly logical and systematic explanation and examination of God and creation in terms of reason, reconciled faith and reason at a time in the 13th century when the two seemed to be incompatible.
There are three fundamental viewpoints on the question. The first, the modernist viewpoint, states that faith limits the scope and abilities of reason, and therefore must be rejected. Atheist scientists like Richard Dawkins famously hold this view. The second viewpoint, the fideist view, claims the exact opposite: scientific reason limits the scope and abilities of faith, and should be rejected. Fundamentalist Protestants often hold this view.
It would seem from these views that faith and reason are in irreconcilable conflict, and that one must choose to ally with one against the other. In fact, both these viewpoints are too limited. There is a third viewpoint: integrationism. According to this view, faith and reason are both positive goods oriented towards the truth, and they must complement rather than contradict each other.
St. Thomas Aquinas is probably the most famous of the integrationists. He agreed with Aristotle that rational thought, the ability to abstract from what is known about a thing to grasp the essence of that thing, is what separates humans from animals. According to St. Thomas, since God created humanity with reason, therefore reason, as a gift from God, must be a positive good. Since the goal of reason is truth, and since the goal of faith, also, is truth, the two cannot contradict each other. There may be things about faith that reason cannot tell us; however, there can be nothing about faith that reason disproves. The two work hand in hand. St. Thomas' seminal work, the Summa Theologica, an amazingly logical and systematic explanation and examination of God and creation in terms of reason, reconciled faith and reason at a time in the 13th century when the two seemed to be incompatible.
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