Religion-Faith and Reason

Question 1

what is a leap of faith?

Answer 1

a leap of faith is a belief without evidence or reason.

Question 2

What is Locke’s argument

Answer 2

• God has given us the faculties and capacity to use reason to found our belief in God.
• He suggests it is better to use our capacity and ability to reason and come to the conclusion that God does not exist than to blindly believe.
• This is because Locke believes that God will judge us by our faithfulness to his gift of the ability and faculties necessary to reason.
• through reason we can see the existence of God is highly probable.
• therefore faith is only rational belief.

Question 3

What is Aquinas’ argument?

Answer 3

• faith and reason are compatible
• however some religious truths cannot be explained by reason.
• he also stresses the role of volition in faith (free will). Faith is a volition because it is a virtue. Aquinas argues that because faith is a volition it is also what God will judge us by.
• Unlike reason which is a forced belief coming from a logical compulsion
• example: the cosmological argument rationally explained the existence of God however it does not capture the essence of Christianity unlike something which takes a leap of faith like the trinity
• Thus we can conclude that reason will help you to prove the existence of God however to understand the essence of religion takes a leap of faith

Question 4

What is Kiekegaard’s argument?

Answer 4

• “to stand on one leg and prove God’s existence is very different from going on one’s knees and thanking him”
• One leg: unstable showing off. Knees: stable, respect.
• “the existence of a King is commonly acknowledged by an appropriate expression of subjection and submission; what is in his presence, one were to prove he existed”
• Faith and reason are opposed.
• Faith is a passionate personal belief.
• approach faith via reason and it seems ridiculous (links to language games)
• Must chose to believe in the paradox of God
• Abraham blind faith keeps his son compared to King Agamemnon who has to kill his daughter via reason.

Question 5

Kiekegaard quotes

Answer 5

• “to stand on one leg and prove God’s existence is very different from going on one’s knees and thanking him”
• “the existence of a King is commonly acknowledged by an appropriate expression of subjection and submission; what is in his presence, one were to prove he existed”