Faith vs. Reason

In class on Thursday, we discussed whether faith should be driven by reason (science) or if reason should be driven by faith. I believe that if your faith is truly as strong as it should be, then reason should be driven by faith.

Humans always want answers. That's just the way we were created. Whenever we are challenged with a question, we do everything we can to find the answer. Some people may even go so far, it challenges what they believe (their faith).

One example of this is the many scientists who are Theistic Evolutionists. They believe that God works through the natural process of evolution, thus supporting the evolution theory. Theses scientists say that the first few chapters of Genesis were intended to by "lyrical" or to be read figuratively. I, however, believe that taking that approach to scripture questions the entire authority of the Bible. If the first few chapters of Genesis were intended to not be literal, how do we know that the rest of the scriptures aren't the same way? Theistic Evolutionists let reason drive their faith.

An example of the opposite would be those in the Middle East and Muslim cultures. These people place such a high emphasis on tradition, that no matter what technological advancements or discoveries are made, they won't let it affect what they've been taught to believe. Although many Muslims are only Muslim because that's how they were brought up, they are a good standard for standing firm in your faith. If you truly believe in something, then your faith should be so strong that no form of reason should be able to change what you believe. Although science and reason should challenge what you believe, you should be able to defend it with your faith instead of caving in and letting it alter your beliefs.