Jake Bishop

Jan 31, 2001

Chapter 7, Reason and Religious Belief

We don’t have to look at the existence of God in the light of evidence and arguments only; for the Christian if this were so then faith would be unnecessary.  Reason can be a tool to support and strengthen beliefs in God, but is not capable alone of proving it.

In some ancient eastern religions, philosophers believed objects that could only be experienced or proven by empirical means do not really exist. The world of our senses, and even our rational thoughts, is only an illusion, a façade.  Disciplines such as Zen Buddhism teach that reason alone is incomplete, and requires knowledge of the “absurd” to provide a complete perspective of truth.  These beliefs were based on their primary basic beliefs, which obviously are very different from those of traditional western philosophy.

The author states in the text that philosophers own primary basic beliefs and pre-philosophical commitments make them subjective in addressing any argument, even when using “correct philosophical technique”.  Using reason and rationale alone to try to address the existence or non-existence of God is in itself unreasonable and irrational.

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