“Christian theism must be rejected by any person with even a shred of respect for reason.”
“Reason and faith are opposites, two mutually exclusive terms: there is no reconciliation or common ground.”
“Faith is belief without, or in spite of reason.”
George H. Smith – Atheistic Scholar
These are three seemingly factual statements that are directed towards Christian theism. While it must be recognized that these darts of atheism are by no means new to the theist, it is however one that has provoked a host of different responses throughout church history. Here however I will seek to delineate only two of the main theistic responses to the atheistic challenges above.
The first or most popular response to the challenges thrown at Christianity is one of disregard. Here the Christian is taught to ignore the atheistic challenges in the name of faith and to regard it as the voice of the devil attempting to draw the Christian away from his or her faith. Rick Nanez, a Pentecostal scholar and theologian highlighted and reprimanded this approach to the atheistic challenge in his book Full Gospel Fractured Minds. He basically argues that when Christ told his disciples to love God – He told them to do so with all their hearts, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). This is something I believe that many of us will need to truly consider: does loving God fully with our hearts and soul suggest that we ought to do so at the expense of our minds? This is hardly sustainable through Scripture because Christ asserts this command (to love Him with our mind as much as with our heart and soul) as the “first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:38).
The second response, which, I believe would be the more scriptural and rational response, would be to respond with apologetics: with faith and reason – with heart and with mind. We need to be able to systematically articulate our belief to anyone who challenges the faith on which we place our life on. This is exactly what the Scripture tells us to do in 1 Peter 3:15:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…
Here Peter is telling the early Christians that while they set apart Christ as Lord, they were to always be ready to defend their faith (or to do apologetics). Nevertheless, they were also reminded by the apostle that the only legitimate way for a Christian to do apologetics (or to jump into a debate in defense of the faith) is to do so with “gentleness and respect”. Basically, the demonstration of Christ's humility in the apologetic process is not to be compromised. This is vital in evangelization because we must not be enticed into winning the battle (the argument or debate) only to lose the war (the person).
In conclusion, in response to the above assertions by George Smith, we should be able to defend our belief to legitimate extent with the use of reason. The statement that faith is in any way hostile or contrary to reason must be nullified altogether by a combination of intelligent and reasonable arguments. Every Christian believes that God is omniscient and all-knowing; and therefore it does at times seem rather contradictory for us to fear reason and logic. This sort of response only indicates that we have a faith that is so shallow and flimsy that it can be knocked flat by any thinking skeptic that strolls along. It is important for all Christians to recognize this. After all, right thinking can never lead one to wrong conclusions…
Sources:
Moyer, Larry R. 21 Things that God Never Said. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications,2004.
Nanez, Rick M., Full Gospel Fractured Minds. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.
Philip, Jose, Christian Apologetics. Lecture, Bible College of Malaysia (BCM), Petaling Jaya. January 5-16, 2009.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.
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