What Is the Relationship Between Faith and Reason?

Some of the most intense debates between Christians and secularists often concern the relationship between faith and reason. These discussions are focused on discovering whether faith is subordinate to reason or vice versa, and whether the two are mutually exclusive. To be certain, understanding the relationship between these two critical domains will have an enormous impact on how some justify their faith, or whether they approach life with blind faith. Answers to these questions will contribute to our understanding of how God reaches rational people.

The Importance of Definitions

At the root of many disagreements about the relationship of faith to reason is the more fundamental problem of conflicting (and inaccurate) definitions of one or both of the terms. To rightly understand this crucial relationship requires a correct understanding of the respective definitions.

Critics of Christianity generally view faith and reason as foes, since critics are inclined to define faith as gullibility, by which they mean that faith is either believing something without reason and evidence or believing something against reason and evidence. Richard Dawkins, a proponent of evolutionary biology and an outspoken opponent of Christianity, is a prime example of this. He categorically states that “faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.”[1]

This view of faith is called fideism (blind faith); to attribute it to biblical Christianity is to indulge in rank caricature. Fideists are also caught in a dilemma, for they invariably seek to justify their antireason position by appealing to reason. If no rational justification is offered to support fideism, it would appear fideism is left rationally unjustified.

Some fideists claim that reason itself is ultimately based on faith, arguing that one can use reason only if he trusts reason—that is, he must have faith that reason is a reliable tool for acquiring knowledge. But this argument undermines his claim, for one cannot have faith in reason unless he first uses reason to distinguish faith from reason. What is more, the argument does not solve the problem—it simply postpones it, for there would still need to be a rational justification for why the fideist has faith that reason is a reliable tool.

Reason must also be used to distinguish truth from error, reality from appearance, and good from evil—distinctions essential for the decisions and actions that humans make innumerable times a day. When it comes to answering questions about ultimate reality, however, reason is not selfsufficient, but requires divine revelation. Apart from the Bible, we are left with nothing but speculation about the nature and destiny of human beings.

Nevertheless, certain aspects of reason are universal and absolute, such as the basic principles of logic, without which no valid thinking and interpreting can be done. An adequate definition of reason must recognize both its objective and subjective aspects. Reason is often confused with merely a subjective reasoning process. Without the objective aspect, however, it would be impossible to attain true knowledge about anything.

The Bible’s Opposition to Blind Faith

The apostle Paul summed up the biblical case against fideism in a crystalclear directive: “Test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and to avoid “contradictions” (Greek, antithesis) (1 Timothy 6:20).

Christians are not to be credulous, but rather to be discerning with their critical faculties, well-honed and informed by Scripture (1 John 4:1). A careful reading of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, demonstrates an overarching concern for truth and genuine knowledge. It is replete with warnings against falsehood and ignorance.

Reason Is Essential to Biblical Faith

Faith is always directed into something or someone—that is, faith always has an object. The crucial question is whether that object has the credentials to justify our trust (cf. Acts 1:3; 2:22). One cannot discover trustworthines without using reason.

An example of the unbreakable connection between faith and reason is seen in John 14:11, where Christ said, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” He appealed to two reasons as the basis for trusting in Him and His claims: the unique authority of His character and life, and the divine miracles that He performed. If one reasons properly from the uniqueness of Christ’s moral character and the empirical evidence of His miraculous works—especially His resurrection—he will be led to the conclusion that Christ’s claims to be the Messiah and the Son of God are true and justified (John 14:1,6,11; 20:31; Romans 1:4).

What Faith Is Not

One can often arrive at a better understanding of a term by contrasting it with what it is not. Nowhere in the Bible is faith contrasted with reason; on the contrary, the Bible always implicitly or explicitly unites them. There are three main contrasts clearly indicated in Scripture.

1. Faith is contrasted with sight: “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Neither in this verse nor in any other passage does Scripture make faith and reason mutually exclusive.

2. Faith is contrasted with works (Romans 3:27; Galatians 3:2; Ephesians 2:8-9). This contrast pertains to salvation, which cannot be earned by any deeds we perform. An important sequence is found in Christ’s reference to the person who hears the gospel and brings forth good fruit that results from a transformed life. First, such a person understands the good news of Christ, and then he believes it. Subsequently, his faith is demonstrated in his changed character and deeds (Matthew 13:23).

3. Faith is contrasted with mere assent (Matthew 13:20-21; John 2:23- 25; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Galatians 5:6; Ephesians 2:10; James 2:14-26; cf. James 2:19). Of course, intellectual assent is an essential part of genuine faith, but it is not the entirety of it. In Romans 10:9-10, the metaphor of the heart includes the capacity to believe, and that capacity necessarily involves reason, for without some clear understanding of what one should believe, there can be no genuine faith.

What Faith Is

Much misunderstanding of faith has resulted from a failure to distinguish its various uses in the Bible. Consider the distinctions between five major uses listed below.

1. The set of distinctive doctrines: In several biblical passages, reference is made to “the faith,” a shorthand way of designating the set of distinctive doctrines that define biblical Christianity: “Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

2. Reliance on evidences as support: Some biblical passages use the word “faith” to indicate reliance on evidences that serve to justify or support the truth (John 5:36; 10:37-38; 14:11; Acts 2:32; 1 Corinthians 15:3- 17; 2 Peter 1:16-18; 1 John 1:1-3).

3. Faith is also used to refer to belief in the doctrinal truths that constitute the distinctives of biblical Christianity (John 20:31; also see John 6:69; 8:46).

4. Numerous biblical passages use “faith” to mean wholehearted trust in God or Christ (John 1:12; also see John 3:16,18,36; 14:1; Acts 16:31).

5. “Faith” is often used to connote a twofold reference, indicating both its objective and subjective aspects: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). This verse is often taken out of context and misunderstood as a reference to a purely subjective state. But as one reads its context in the entire eleventh chapter of Hebrews, it becomes clear that verse 1 includes both the subjective state of believing and the objective reality of divine revelation (verse 3). Indeed, all of the many heroes of faith mentioned in the chapter subjectively relied on the objective words of God.

The Foolishness of Misplaced Faith

There are general uses of faith outside of the Bible that should be distinguished from these five biblical uses. All human beings have faith in a generic sense, for everyone trusts in others and believes a variety of things only read or heard from others.

The similarity between this generic faith and the unique faith referred to in Scripture is formal in that both involve a subjective state of believing and an object of that belief. The object of biblical faith is the true and living God and His revelation, whereas the objects of generic faith are very diverse. In fact, the objects of generic faith can include untrustworthy people and false claims.

Because it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18), He alone is worthy of total trust and commitment. A person who places unqualified confidence in himself or in other humans is foolish (Proverbs 28:26; Jeremiah 17:5). Ultimately, confidence should be placed in God alone (Matthew 4:10).

Defining Reason

Like the word faith, the term reason is used in multiple ways to express a variety of meanings. But it is crucial to understand that reason is a Godgiven capacity to seek the truth and to acquire genuine knowledge. It is a tool for engaging in careful reasoning, such as drawing sound conclusions from true premises.

But rational deliberation is not possible unless we are free to follow the evidence where it leads. Where determinism completely reigns, there are only causes and no reasons. Advocates of materialistic naturalism (antisupernaturalism) think everything is the deterministic result of blind, impersonal physical causes. Biblical theism, however, accounts for both reason and freedom.

Reason also includes another function that is often overlooked. It is appropriately called rational insight. This is the ability to grasp and understand a variety of general principles and truths that are not derived from sensory perceptions of physical objects. The basic laws of logic (such as the law of noncontradiction) and of rational inference (such as the process of deduction and induction) are among these principles.

The Effects of Sin on the Mind

In view of the fact that we are fallen creatures who live in a fallen world, some might think that I have painted a far too rosy picture of reason. The term fallen refers to sin and its damaging consequences, which affect our ability to act properly and think correctly. Scripture leaves no doubt that sin distorts our thinking as well as our attitudes, motives, and actions.

Although sin corrupts the whole person, it does not destroy all capacity to reason, nor does it have any effect on the objective standards of rationality. Without these standards remaining intact along with some capacity to reason, human life would not be possible. They are also essential for human responsibility.

God’s reality and ultimacy are displayed in the created order, and despite sin’s effects, which incites humans to suppress awareness of this fact, their willful rebellion against God incurs guilt (Romans 1:18-23). The sinful desire for complete autonomy is at the root of mankind’s attempt to entirely eliminate the thought of God from their minds (Romans 1:28).

Even when faith in God is absent, reason and conscience continue to testify to His reality (Romans 2:1-4,14-15). Scripture unambiguously shows that reason is an ally of faith in various ways (Isaiah 1:18). This inseparable relationship between reason and faith is emphasized in 1 Peter 3:15: “Always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” The clear implication is that we have solid reasons for the truth of the Christian faith, and these reasons cannot be dissolved into the relativity of human subjectivity. The reasons are there for anyone who seeks to be objective and honest with the evidence.

We find many examples of the apostle Paul using reason to defend the gospel (Acts 17:2; 18:4,19; 19:8-9). That this was his consistent practice is affirmed in Acts 17:2, stating that his custom was to reason with others as he sought to persuade them of the truth of the gospel. Of course, no one can come to genuine faith without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3) and the proclamation of the gospel (Romans 10:14), but, like Paul, we can use reason and evidence in our endeavors to bring people to Christ.

What is more, despite sin’s effects on the mind, faith and reason have their respective roles. Prior to salvation, reason must be used to evaluate and discern whether the Bible is true. Once this decision is made in the affirmative, faith is then placed in Scripture’s message and in Christ. After trust is placed in the Bible, the believer then brings his reason under the authority of Scripture. This is not mindless obedience, for the logical categories (laws of logic) are still very active and in play in our rational faculties, even when reading Scripture.

Reason Is a Friend of Faith

It is important to emphasize that reason cannot save anyone! Salvation is a gift obtained only through placing faith in Christ. This salvific trust is a reasonable faith. The Holy Spirit can use good reason as an instrument to reach unbelievers. The answer to our key question is clear: Reason is not a foe but a friend of faith. Faith and reason are both gifts from God. Like many of His gifts, they can be misused, but when used properly, they lead to Christ, who is the source of reason (Logos—John 1:1) and “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Although the following directive is from a different context, it is apropos of the biblical relation between faith and reason: “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6).

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[1] Richard Dawkins, “A Scientist’s Case Against God,” a speech at the Edinburgh International Science Festival on April 15, 1992 (reported in The Independent, April 20, 1992).