There are few words in Christianity that are used more than the word faith. You can have faith, live the faith, be faithful, and believe the faith, all in a single conversation. And Jesus tells us that one with faith can be healed (Mk 10:52), receives whatever he asks in prayer (Matt 21:22), and can even move mountains (Matt 17:20), to list only a few things he tells us.
Yet many people are very skeptical of the word faith. Afterall, in an age of science and technology, many see faith as a relic of the past, an outdated and superstitious practice. One critic even described faith as “an assertion of unreasonable conviction, which is assumed without reason, and defended against all reason" [1].
Though I disagree with these objections, I sympathize with them for two reasons. First, some Christians do defend faith on these grounds, saying things like “Of course it isn’t based on evidence - that’s why it is called faith.” This is a poor reason. But secondly, I believe there is a great deal of misunderstanding about the word faith.
For as much as one might think faith is opposed to reason, many Catholics have written at length to the contrary. As Pope St. John Paul II said “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth” [2]. Together they soar, but separate they fall, like a one-winged duck trying to fly (my words, not his). “Each without the other is impoverished and enfeebled” [3].
With all our modern era’s skepticism about faith, how can any sober Catholic believe that faith can be in harmony with reason? If we are to follow Jesus’ call to faith, or have any chance at bringing someone else to faith, we had best sharpen our understanding of how reasonable faith can be.
I want to start our discussion about faith and reason with the most simple definitions I know: faith and reason are two ways that we know things. They have different methods, but the same goal, which is truth. I can believe something because I have faith in it, or I can believe it because I have reasoned to it. That’s what they have in common, but how are they different?
Reason is the natural ability of the intellect to understand the truth, discover the truth, and prove the truth [4]. Reason tells me things like 2 + 2 = 4 and the number of calories in a Big Mac. These are things that can be discovered or demonstrated by the natural power of the intellect.
Faith is a pregnant word. It has many layers of meaning, which can make it hard to speak clearly about. So let’s make a few distinctions. As a noun, we can talk about “The Faith”, referring to the entire Christian belief and practice, or even just the body of truth claims in Christianity. But for this article, we’re not focused on “faith” as a noun, so much as “faith” the verb, that is, having faith.
Faith (the verb) is a way of knowing truth by placing our trust in someone else. It is when you assent your belief to what someone says because you judge this person (or organization) trustworthy.
Now as I said, faith has many layers of meaning. My simple definition does not do justice to the full depth of the word. But for our purposes here, I believe this definition to be sufficient.
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