Faith and Reason

Definition and Meaning

Faith and reason is a theological topic that asks how believing in God relates to the human capacity to think and reason. It centers on three questions: How far can God be known through reason? Does faith precede understanding? When the two appear to conflict, what serves as the standard? These questions underlie discussions such as science and faith and creation and evolution.

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture contains both passages that encourage the use of reason and passages that speak of the limits of human wisdom.

• Passages encouraging the use of reason: Frequently cited are Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together"; 1 Peter 3:15, which calls believers to be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks the reason for their faith; and Acts 17, where Paul disputes with the philosophers of Athens.
• Passages on the limits of human wisdom: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 states that the message of the cross appears foolish to the wisdom of the world.

Various positions have emerged in church history.

• Tertullian distanced himself from philosophy with the question, "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?"
• Augustine held that faith leads to understanding, and Anselm summarized this idea in the phrase "faith seeking understanding."
• Thomas Aquinas distinguished between truths knowable by reason and truths knowable only through revelation (what God has disclosed of Himself), holding that the two do not contradict each other.
• The Reformers emphasized that reason, damaged by sin, cannot find the way of salvation on its own.
• In the twentieth century, Karl Barth rejected natural theology (the attempt to know God through nature and reason alone, apart from revelation), which led to a debate with Emil Brunner.

Practice in the Korean Church

The Korean church is often described as strongly inclined to prioritize experience and obedience, so much so that the saying "Don't question, just believe" is commonly heard. The emphasis, however, varies by denomination and theological tradition.

• Conservative Presbyterians: Denominations such as Hapdong, Kosin, and Hapshin, following the Reformed tradition, place the authority of Scripture above reason. These denominations include theologians influenced by the presuppositional apologetics of Cornelius Van Til, an approach that takes the Christian faith as the starting point of argument.
• Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea: In the 1950s, controversy arose over Kim Jae-jun's acceptance of biblical criticism (the scholarly study of how biblical texts were formed), and this controversy formed the background to the separation of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea. The denomination tends to be relatively open to dialogue between academic biblical study and faith.
• Methodists: Wesleyan theology points to the so-called "Wesleyan Quadrilateral." The term was coined in the twentieth century by Albert Outler, who summarized John Wesley's theological method in terms of four criteria: Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Methodists hold Scripture as primary while recognizing reason as one of the criteria for judgments of faith.
• Pentecostals: Pentecostal denominations emphasize the experience of the Holy Spirit and hold that faith includes areas that reason cannot fully explain.

In recent years, as apologetic works by authors such as C. S. Lewis and Tim Keller have been widely translated and read, interest in explaining the rationality of faith has grown among church members as well.