Is There Reason in Religion?

The nonreligious have spoken. We have scientist Richard Dawkins' book, The God Delusion, and philosopher Sam Harris' The End of Faith who not only deny religious reason but feel dogmatic religion is dangerous. Even Tufts University Professor Daniel Dennett author of "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," weighed in with his latest book, Breaking the Spell" which tries to provide alternative conclusions for religion such as biological and cultural reasons for why the religious believe as they do. Dennett believes that within 25 years "religion will command little of the awe it seems to command presently, but insists that he wants to engage religious readers in a rational discussion, not turn them away." ("The Guardian," 4/25/07) Are faithful believers suppose to engage in contemporary debate, even with those who are hostile against religion? Yes.

"But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And so do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."( 1 Peter 3:14-15)

First Peter tells us that we should always be ready to give a defense for our faith with gentleness and reverence (New American Standard Bible) even in the face of great opposition. If reason means logic and defending a belief means evidence, then we as believers are required to give an account of our faith. Remember too that although the early church had Old Testament scripture to rely upon, they did not have the New Testament or the organized church as we know them today. The author here was asking us to give an answer that depended upon more than the Bible and organized religion.

HISTORY:
First Peter is written by the Apostle Peter in order to strengthen the persecuted early Christian believers. It is interesting to note that Peter was the one Apostle who was always so certain of himself and trust in the Lord Jesus, but yet denied the Lord three times during the time of Christ's crucifixion. We see later after the resurrection that Peter not only is strengthened by the Holy Spirit, but is told that he will become one of the pillars of the church. Peter understands the importance of not only standing up for one's faith, but with courage, conviction and reliable testimony in the face of tremendous odds against him.

We know that persecutions occurred during the time of Nero, Domitian and Trajan, and that both the Apostle Paul and Silas were persecuted in Philippi by the time First Peter was written. It is interesting to note that both Mark, who had earlier been summoned to Rome by Paul, and Silas, Paul's friend and traveling companion, are now with Peter during this writing, so this epistle may have been written in Rome during Nero's persecutions in 64 AD. Peter had gentile Christians in mind when he wrote this epistle because he tells them that although they were formerly "not a people," they are now people of God (I Peter 2:10) and their past life had been lived in the sinful lust of Gentiles (I Peter 4:3-4). Like his second epistle, Peter felt that all professing believers "give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10). Here, he asks that one can do this by giving an answer to everyone with meekness (gentle, patient, long-suffering) and fear of God (awe, reverence).

FAITH AND REASON:
Basically, one should be able to 1) give a reason why a belief is held; 2) the process how belief was concluded, and 3) explanation as to reliability and justification for such a belief. It becomes almost an ethical issue when you consider that it is imperative for a Christian to not only search for and convey the truth, but if they are NOT truthful, it would be against the very Christian virtues they profess to hold.

In order to arrive at truth one must go through a kind of mental process such as sense perception, introspection, memory, recollection of historical data by others, and finally reasoning. One must ask how reliable is the testimony, the texts and all of the data? What is the level of expertise and conditions under which the information was disclosed? Is the Christian believer self-aware of their even arriving at this self-evidence in order to share it with others confidently?

CERTAINTY:
If a Christian believer is convinced in their own mind that what they believe is true, they should also aim for some level of universality (what is true for me should be true for everyone) as well as objectivity (being without contradiction and absolute). God is not just a concept of the mind. If one is going to accept that faith relies on nothing more than mere speculation or wishful thinking, then they will have a tough time giving an answer to anyone who asks for reasons. In order to convince another, the facts should be irrefutable. Therefore, faith and reason should always go hand-in-hand as Peter recognized.