‘Rational faith’ an oxymoron
right in his submission “Universal faith based on reason
would give meaning to religion” (Oct. 3).
The claims of religion are subject to the laws of logic, and as
rational beings we can discover the truth or falsity of those
claims.
But he is wrong to claim that because of this, we ought to look
for a “rational faith” to unify the faithful.
In fact, there is no such thing as rational faith.
Rationality consists of using your mind to discover the facts of
reality and the actions we must take to lead good, happy lives.
Faith consists of not using your mind, but of accepting claims
contrary to or independent of logic and evidence.
As such, a rational faith is a contradiction in terms, and all
faiths are necessarily irrational.
The reason “faith” is often used as a synonym for
religion is because religion is inherently a faith-based
enterprise.
Religion is concerned with the supernatural.
If it weren’t, religion would be a science and theologians
would be estimating the electric potential of God instead of coming
up with elaborate rationalizations of why we should believe in
Him.
Contrary to Carreon’s
implication that we must use rationality to decide among the
available religions, rationality dictates that we choose no
religion at all.
Carreon can write in again when somebody proves the existence of
God.
Daniel Radetsky, Fourth-year, mathematics
L.O.G.I.C.