Assignment Faith and Reason Final Paper

Defining the Proper Relationship Between Faith and Reason Arrie Elizabeth Harlan APOL 550: Faith and Reason June 30, 2023

Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 Categories of Faith and Reason .................................................................................................. 1 Faith and Reason are Antithetical ....................................................................................... 1 Aquinas and the Complementary Relationship .................................................................. 2 Faith and Reason as Synthesis ............................................................................................ 3 Christian Faith Defined ............................................................................................................... 4 Faith and its Many Meanings ............................................................................................. 4 Battling the Issue of Trust .................................................................................................. 5 The Doctrine of Saving Faith ............................................................................................. 7 The Proper Relationship Between Faith and Reason ............................................................... 7 Gospel Promises ................................................................................................................. 7 Covenant Promises ............................................................................................................. 8 Man’s Moral Attributes ...................................................................................................... 8 The Believer and Faith ................................................................................................................. 9 The Righteous ..................................................................................................................... 9 The Sanctified ................................................................................................................... 10 The Commitment .............................................................................................................. 10 Social Institutions ............................................................................................................ 11 The Family, the Government, and the Church ...................................................... 11 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 12 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 13 ii

2 rests tangles humanity in hopeless and outmoded superstitions that hinder progress … faith is not benign but dangerous, and thus should be relegated to the dustbins of history.” 2 Regrettably, this line of thinking has crept into the modern-day evangelical population. This infringement is mostly the result to the evangelical community adopting a mindset of anti- intellectualism. First appearing during the turn of the nineteenth century when the fundamentalist church removed itself from the intellectual defense of the faith in the marketplace of ideas and shifted its focus to internal matters that focused on the laity and unnecessary doctrinal interests. 3 A byproduct of this move was a slanted view of faith and reason, not unlike the views held by secular scientists. Moreland, writing on the effects of anti-intellectualism, states, Believers grew suspicious of the importance of historical study in understanding the Bible and in defending its truthfulness. An increased emphasis was placed on the Holy Spirit in understanding the Bible as opposed to serious historical and grammatical study … Instead of responding to these attacks with a vigorous intellectual counterpunch, many believers grew suspicious of intellectual issues altogether. To be sure, Christians must rely on the Holy Spirit in their intellectual pursuits, but this does not mean they should expend no mental sweat of their own in defending the faith … Unfortunately, our contemporary understanding of these important concepts treats faith and reason as polar opposites. 4 Aquinas and the Complementary Relationship In the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, theologians of the era held a second view. St. Thomas believed that faith and reason were complementary to each other, with each having a different purpose within the economy of God’s kingdom here on earth. He held to a dual metaphysic which arguably borrowed its foundations from the form/matter dichotomy of 2 Steve Wilkens, et al., Faith and Reason: Three Views (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2014), 9. 3 J. P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2012), 18. 4 Ibid., 18-20.

3 Hellenistic thought. 5 It was Aquinas’ belief that faith and reason are two separate outlets for knowledge, if you will, with the source for both being the Christian God. The spiritual and the natural were distinct. While faith was concerned with heavenly and spiritual concepts that reason cannot obtain, reason pertains to the temporal matters that can be observed through the five senses. According to Strauss et al, “Hence between the truths of Revelation and the knowledge acquired by the sole use of reason and experience, there is a distinction but there can be no fundamental disagreement.” 6 Faith and Reason as Synthesis Another view of the philosophers in the evangelical movement of the modern world holds to the idea that faith and reason work together in synthesis as a part of the natural order in the administration of the kingdom of God. However, faith and reason are not separate entities working in their designated lanes differing from the view held by Aquinas. Rather, faith and reason work in conjunction with one another in the life of the believer life. Reason is an ontological starting point for the believer because God made all men in his image. 7 The ability to reason, then, is a contagious characteristic of God that is only affected by the fall in an ontological sense, not an economic one. Moreland put it this way, . . . the doctrine of total depravity does not mean that the image of God is effaced, that sinners are as evil as they could possibly be, or that the intellect, emotions, and will are gone or completely useless. Rather, total depravity means that the entire person, including the intellect, has been adversely affected by the Fall and is separate from God … Further, the entire personality is corrupt but not inoperative, and every aspect of our personality has a natural inclination to run in 5 Mark Galli and Ted Olsen, “Thomas Aquinas,” in 131 Christians Everyone Should Know (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 31. 6 Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, History of political philosophy (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1987), 252. 7 Moreland, Love Your God , 130.

5 of it … Faith is a human response to God’s faithfulness and His promise. We trust His trustworthiness, not our own. His character is the key.” 11 Battling the Issue of Trust The freedom of the Hebrews in the book of Exodus represents one of the best examples of God’s fulfilled promises and the faith he brought to bear in the many challenges his covenant people faced. God spoke to them at length from Mt. Sanai and told of the mighty works that he did in their midst to bring them to that point in history. God’s declaration to Hebrews was not unlike the ancient Near Eastern vassal treaties, which revealed a biography of sorts of the sovereign seeking to rule. This includes his accomplishments as a warrior or savior, as well as his demands and regulations on those he intends to rule. Bailey, in his work on the structure of the book of Exodus, makes this statement concerning the Suzerain parallels, for those who accept it, this parallel indicates God’s use of the familiar treaty pattern of the ancient Near East for theological purposes. In this treaty format, with which Moses and the people were familiar, God bound the people to him because of his past redemptive acts for them. Thus, the ten commandments become, not law in the common sense, but policy stating the type of behavior demanded. The ‘Book of the Covenant’ or ‘Covenant Code’ (20:23–23:33) defined and applied this type of behavior contractually to everyday life in terms of God and his human community. 12 In the end, God presents himself as a mighty King able to provide, protect, and defend. The Hebrew people choose to give consent to God that he may rule them as their King and they would be his people (Exodus 6:1-8, and 19:1-9). 11 Robert James Utley, The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews , vol. Volume 10, Study Guide Commentary Series (Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International, 1999), 114. 12 Randall Bailey, “Pentateuch,” in Old Testament Introduction , ed. Terry Briley, Paul Kissling, and Mark Mangano, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub., 2005), 136.

6 What makes this event important is that throughout the scriptures, this historical account is mentioned to both rebuke and exhort the covenant people of God. During their Assyrian captivity, when Israel fell into syncretism, the readers of Second Kings were warned about turning away from the true God and his covenant that freed them from Egypt. 13 Finally, in Psalm 136, we get a summary statement that encapsulates the works done by God for the Israelites with his mighty outstretched hand. Calvin states it this way, “we may just observe that the Psalmist represents every age as affording displays of the same goodness as had been shown to their fathers since God had never failed to help his people by a continued succession of deliverances.” 14 By keeping his promises, God’s work as it is recorded strengthens and edifies the Christian faith today. God is working for the benefit of the body of Christ and this they can trust. (Rom 8:28) 15 During times of trouble and uncertainty, the believer can know to his covenant people, both corporately and as individuals, those who claim the blood of Christ (Gal 3; and Matt 6:25-34). The Doctrine of Saving Faith The term faith can also have a positive hermeneutic connotation as it relates to the Doctrine of Saving Faith as it understands that man is fallen and in need of a savior. This saving faith according to the scriptures is a gift of God, and therefore cannot be appropriated unless God 13 Paul R. House, 1, 2 Kings , The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 343. 14 John Calvin, Psalms , electronic ed., Calvin’s Commentaries (Albany: Ages Software, 1998), Ps 136:23. 15 John Bishop, "The Venture of Trust” in Faith , Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, August 20, 2010, accessed June 16, 2023, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives /fall/2010 Entries/faith/#FaiTru.

8 Covenant Promises Because man was created in God’s image, this covenant view affirms that in man is a personality. However, the ontology of man as correlating to pre-lapsarian cognitive efficiency in either the unregenerate or the regenerate man is not found in the covenant view. It also does not mean that man’s ability to reason is univocal with God’s thoughts. However, before the fall even Adam in his pre-fallen state was able to reason from God’s special revelation so that he could understand God’s natural revelation. God’s commandment not to eat from the forbidden tree demonstrates this relationship of special and natural revelation as God’s complete revelation to man (Gen 2:7-17). Man’s Moral Attributes Man reflected God’s moral attributes because he had been created with true knowledge, true righteousness, and true holiness prior to his fall (Col 3:10; and Eph 4:24). 18 The new man, in the process of conformity to the image of Christ, must reject any notion of autonomy in reasoning that was the pattern of man’s thinking at the fall (Gen 3:1-13). The new man reasons from the self-attesting authority of the special revelation from God and not on its “reasonableness” or logical coherency. The Old and New Testaments contain the revelation in the word of God. For all propositional truth, the scriptures are his final authority (2 Cor 10:5). He is not to imitate the philosophical paradigm of the natural man and reason autonomously (Gen 5:1- 3, 6:5, 8:21; Jer 17:9; Matt 15:17-20; John 3:19; Rom 8:7-8; 1 Cor 2:14; Col 1:21-22; and Eph 2:1-3, 4:17-19). Bahnsen in writing concerning the myth of epistemological neutrality in apologetics, explains this point in such a clear and succinct manner that any attempt at brevity would fall 18 Van Til, Cornelius, and William Edgar. Christian Apologetics . 2nd ed. (Phillipsburg, NJ: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 2003), 40.

9 short in emphasizing this most important aspect within the covenantal view of faith and reason. He writes, Thinking to maintain neutrality with respect to Scripture, any natural theology that reasons autonomously from logical and/or empirical grounds to God results in an exclusion of revelational necessity and authority endorsing some other imperious philosophy. Knowledge of God must be rooted in His own self - disclosure. Because the clear revelation of God in nature’s and man’s constitution is suppressed in unrighteousness, it is impossible for theology or apologetics to base their efforts in a rebellious understanding of the world or history, independently working up to a verification of God’s written revelation. Faith must necessarily start with the clear, authoritative, self-attesting, special revelation of God in Scripture coordinated with the Holy Spirit’s inner testimony to the regenerated heart. 19 Given by grace to the elect, through the new birth, under this model, faith is the gift of God (Eph 2:1-10). For this view, faith and reason can only be understood through an ontological paradigm that begins and ends with the God of the bible. The Believer and Faith The Righteous Keeping with this idea that faith and reason are understood as a result of a theological hypothesis, the question is how this faith is lived out in the believer's life. Christians who live life by faith is summarized by the statement, "The righteous shall live by faith" (Rom 1:16). Who, then, are the righteous? The righteous uphold the law of God by faith (Rom 3:21-31). All men by natural birth are children of wrath (Eph 2:1-3). They are children of wrath because of the curse of Adam's sin in history (Rom 5:12-14). The demand of the law of God via the covenant of works is binding to all men born of the flesh. A man will die for his sins and go to Hell if he remains a covenant breaker until he dies because he broke God's law in Adam. 19 Greg L. Bahnsen, Presuppositional Apologetics: Stated and Defended , ed. Joel McDurmon (Powder Springs, GA: Nacogdoches, TX: American Vision; Covenant Media Press, 2008), 4–5.

11 teach that there are three spheres of God's ordained social institutions, the Family, the Church, and the State. Each sphere has its governing principles, with God as its head. Social Institutions The Family, the Government, and the Church First is the domain of the Family. This government has the Power of the Rod (Prov 13:24, 22:15, and 29:15-17). Next, there is the sphere of the Church. This sphere of government has the Keys to the Kingdom (Matt 16:17-19). The last sphere is that of the State. This government sphere has the Sword's power (Rom 12:17-13:7). The sovereignty between each social sphere, particularly between the Church and State, is taught in the Bible. The Christian is to bring dominion while living out a life of faith. which he does by reasoning from the word of God and conforming his thoughts and life to its commands, principles, and instructions. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16–17). Conclusion As stated early, in the history of the Christian church, the relationship between faith and reason has been a topic of conflict among the leading theologians in each generation. Although there are many views on this topic, they can be narrowed down to three overarching categories. These include faith and reason in conflict (antithetical), not in conflict (complimentary), and faith and reason as working together (in synthesis). This writer asserts the view that saving faith must precede reason because valid reasoning is dependent upon the revelation of God contained in the Holy Scriptures. To summarize, a theological foundation is an absolutely necessary precondition to establishing a valid philosophical relationship between faith and reason. By first discussing the three categories of faith and reason, that theological foundation was formed. It examined the

12 various definitions of faith to provide support set forth in this writer’s position on the proper relationship between faith and reason and examined the faith of the believer as it is to be lived out daily. WORD COUNT: 3,353

14 Swinburne, Richard. Faith and Reason . Oxford: New York: Clarendon Press, 2007. Utley, Robert James, The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews , Volume 10, Study Guide Commentary Series Marshall: Bible Lessons International, 1999. Van Til, Cornelius, and William Edgar. Christian Apologetics . 2nd ed. Phillipsburg, NJ: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 2003. Wilkens, Steve, et al, “Conclusion: A Brief Note on Disagreeing Christianly, ” in Faith and Reason: Three Views , ed. Steve Wilkens, Spectrum Multiview Books, Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014.