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Faith and Reason

Faith and Reason. James A. Van Slyke Azusa Pacific University. Primary Question. Is Faith Reasonable? Can the standards of reason be applied to Faith? Reason Providing a rational justification for beliefs Explanation Evidence Logic Judgment. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).

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Faith and Reason

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  1. Faith and Reason James A. Van Slyke Azusa Pacific University

  2. Primary Question • Is Faith Reasonable? • Can the standards of reason be applied to Faith? • Reason • Providing a rational justification for beliefs • Explanation • Evidence • Logic • Judgment

  3. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) • Pragmatic Justification for Faith • Pensées (1670) [Thoughts] • Justification based on Risk or Probability • Better to bet on God and eternal life than atheism

  4. Pragmatic Justification • Pascal’s Wager

  5. Faith and Reason • Faith is opposed to Reason • Faith is Irrational • Soren Kierkegaard • Faith is more important than reason • David Hume • Faith should be discarded in light of reason Hume Kierkegaard

  6. Fideism • Cannot apply categories of reason to faith • Two positions • Faith cannot help but appear absurd to the dictates of reason • Reason does not operate within the realm of faith

  7. Transrational • Faith is higher than reason • Natural Theology is inappropriate because it reduces belief to finite reason • Karl Barth • John Calvin • Alvin Plantiga • Revelation is higher than reason and justifies itself

  8. Fideism • Kierkegaard (1813-1855) • Faith is the highest virtue • Faith will at times seem absurd to the dictates of reason • Reason ought to be a slave to faith

  9. Kierkegaard (1813-1855) • Fear and Trembling (1843) • Reflection on Genesis 22:1-24 • God calls Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac • Reason • Why would God ask anyone to sacrifice their own son? • Faith • Commitment to a reason that transcends our own

  10. Kierkegaard (1813-1855) • Concluding Unscientific Postscript • Faith is passion; one loses passion through objective assessment • Religious decisions are made subjectively not objectively • God is the eternal Subject we stand in relationship to

  11. Existentialism • Values the subjective over the objective • Passion vs. Cold Calculations • Experiencing life instead of understanding it • Faith before understanding

  12. Existentialism • Three Primary Theses • Existence Precedes Essence • Experiencing something is more important than providing a rational explanation • Experiencing God is more important than understanding God • Reason cannot be the core of understanding

  13. Existentialism • Three Primary Theses • Life is Absurd • Life cannot be controlled • Life in the end is meaningless • Kierkegaard argues that this inner turmoil of the soul leads to faith

  14. Existentialism • Three Primary Theses • Freedom is the Core of Existence • Each person must struggle with personal meaning • Both liberating and a curse • Faith and Freedom – Kierkegaard • Reason cannot help but lead to doubt • Freedom allows us to embrace faith

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