Rev. Richard Smith
| Mark 12:30 – Words of Jesus ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ |
All Christians believe that faith is foundational to our beliefs. The central tenets of the Christian religion are matters of faith, not rational defense:
We cannot prove that God created the world but we believe it by faith.
We believe as a matter of faith more than evidence that Jesus performed miracles.
We believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, not because one can prove this happened but rather as a matter of faith.
We believe in the work of the Holy Spirit even though there is no intellectually valid way of proving this divine activity.
We believe in life beyond death on faith. We cannot prove it but we believe it.
At the same time, we need to affirm that faith must coexist with and be guided by wisdom, by reason. When Jesus talked about loving God, he stated that we are to love him with all our mind. To love God with minds is to use our minds; to apply intellectual analysis; to affirm the place of reason in developing our theological and spiritual tenets.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, put it well when he said: When you endeavor to exclude reason out of religion, don’t presume you are promoting the cause of God. Unless you willfully shut your eyes, you cannot but see what service reason is in laying the foundation of true religion, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
There are several ways, I think, reason serves the purpose of healthy and true religion:
Applying our intellect prevents a lot of unhealthy beliefs and practices from developing;
Reason helps us make mature decisions in life and in our spiritual pursuits;
With our minds we can discern what is the good, right, and just thing to do;
When we apply reason, we are honoring the way God made us…with minds to think;
Reason allows us to connect with the world at large as we seek to propagate the faith;
Using our intellects allows us to connect with other life disciplines such as science in determining actions and ideas needing attention.
So, while we are people who embody deep faith, we also know that our beliefs and practices are enhanced when we apply God’s gift of rational thinking.
I’m writing this piece because we are, as you so well know, in a time when many castigate the place of reason, intellect, science in defining what God wants for humanity. It’s unfortunate that this centuries-long battle between science and religion has raised anew its ugly head. Again, God gave us minds to think and wants us to use them.
We do humanity a disservice when we neglect one to the affirmation of the other. It’s a bland existence when we have no commitment to hearts of faith. Faith that life is so much more than what can be catalogued, proven, absolutely explained provides a deep sense of comfort, joy, and hope otherwise unavailable. Yet, the discoveries of science have profoundly enriched our lives on planet earth.
For me, celebrating God’s wonders –both those we can explain and understand and those we cannot – is a key expression of belief and practice. A faith enhanced by reason and intellect expanded by faith make for a truly enriching existence.
