Faith Vs. Reason

There are many people who believe that faith and reason are opposed to one another. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it is genuine faith which begets sound reasoning. In as much as a man becomes perfect through faith, his reasoning (which is a part of him) becomes perfected through faith as well. This point is underscored by the following scriptures which indicate that those who have faith, have been given a perfect, divine mind:

Lost Scrolls of the Essene Brotherhood

"Gracious Love, Creator of Love! Reveal the best words Through thy divine mind living within us."

1 Corinthians 2

16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord
      that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

It is important to note the nature of a man who has perfect reasoning. Remember, those who have faith both have a divine mind and a carnal mind which contend with one another. Therefore in addition to having core perfect reasoning, the perfect man deals with imperfections and doubts which relentlessly try to undermine his abilities. As the perfect man's faith grows, so does his mind, and hence his capacity to perceive and reason things. But these abilities are continually assailed by his carnal mind, and the perfect man must rely on his practice of having faith, to keep the influence of his carnal mind at bay.

The above is how great men of God, such as Paul the apostle, produced the scriptures. They became perfect men through their faith, and they acquired perfect understanding, which grew as they grew their faith.

There are a number of religious organizations throughout the centuries, who have advocated 'blind faith'. They told the people who pursued their religions, to listen and do as they said without question. But the following scripture warns us not to do so:

1 John 4

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Therefore a person must use reason to evaluate someone and what he is saying.

A very important point is that everyone's reasoning is faulty until he has faith - which perfects his reasoning. Therefore the practice of having faith is extremely important, and it is what a person must rely on to ensure he has sound reasoning. Now someone might ask, if no one can reason correctly (more specifically about the important things in life), how can a person successfully come to the decision to have faith? The answer is the Spirit of God must produce that perfect reasoning in him - which jump starts the process of that person having faith. That is what the following scripture means:

John 6

44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Therefore do not put reasoning above the practice of having faith - since the former is dependent on the latter. Also, the carnal mind will do all it can, through faulty reasoning, to convince someone not to have faith. Therefore a person must always be vigilant that he puts the practice of having faith above all other things. When he does this, he will begin to increasingly see the truth about life, and reason correctly.

Now some might say that the above is disingenuous. Why should someone not put reason above having faith, and even question if he should have faith? In addition to what I said above, it is important to realize that it is perfectly fine for someone to question whether his faith is real, or a fantasy, or a deception. If when someone has faith, he does not see a unique, fundamental, growing goodness mysteriously emerge in himself that is constant in all situations, and he does not see other signs as predicted by the Bible (such as what he asks for in prayer coming to bear partially or in full, and also emergent general intelligence) then he has every right to doubt the authenticity of the process of having faith. However, the above is very different from someone (who has faith), constantly wondering whether he should have it. Someone constantly wondering whether he should have faith is extremely dangerous, since it provides a foothold for the person's carnal self to seduce him away from having it - which is the source of everything worthwhile to him. Therefore while it may be fine for a man to periodically check for signs that his faith is true (borne out largely by his fundamental goodness), he should unwaveringly continue to pursue his faith, as he sees this key piece of evidence (deep-seated goodness) inside him.

Therefore in a relationship with God, faith and reason are not opposed to one another. Faith is required to ensure the authenticity of reason - since faith perfects every spiritual aspect of a man (which can be verified through observation), including his reasoning. (On the other hand, reason is required to assure the authenticity of faith - by making sure that behavioral and other evidence support its actual existence.) Therefore place having faith above all other things in your life, as it is the only means to achieve perfection - including perfect reasoning.

What Is The Point Of Having Faith?

Many people wonder why it is that a person cannot have faith the way Christ instructed in Mark 11:22-24, and actually move mountains immediately. The answer is, God allowed wickedness to arise in creation as a means of testing and perfecting many beings - mankind in particular. It was necessary for man to fall from his perfect, luminous form, to one where he is trapped in bodies which bind him to this lowly, wicked, material world (i.e. plane of existence).

Man's capacities to perceive things and to act righteously, have been greatly stifled by beings living within him called the carnal self. It is these beings which force him to perceive only the material world, and to be ignorant about where he came from, who he is, and what he should be doing with his life. These beings also sap away much of his power and other abilities. That is why Christ said the following:

Gospel of Thomas

85)  Jesus said, "Adam came into being from a great power and a
great wealth, but he did not become worthy of you. For had he
been worthy, [he would] not [have experienced] death."

Mankind therefore has been placed under very hostile conditions, to overcome and grow. It is also important to realize, that mankind are God / creation seeds who have been thrown down into this material world to grow up into huge Gods and creations. This whole process has been made arduous in order to obtain the finest Gods in the Godhead. Therefore the point of having faith is not to move mountains, or heal the sick, or fly through the air per se: it is to overcome the circumstance men have been born into. Men are required to overcome their circumstances via a process in which each man's spiritual composition changes from one where his soul is overwhelmed and ruled by his carnal self, to one where where his soul: becomes purified and protected by the Holy Spirit; grows into an image of God; and is aided by a myriad of angels and other spiritual beings which make up what the Bible calls his inner man. (The above is also what it means to be born again.)

When a person has faith, he uses the inner man to contend with the carnal self which remains in his body, and also wickedness in this world. It is primarily the angels contained within the inner man that a soul relies on to overcome the world, and in so doing,  attain greater and greater righteousness and knowledge. (Gnostics calls this knowledge gnosis, which are the mysteries of God.)

Therefore when someone has faith and grows it, he should not expect things will necessarily become easier and easier in this world. For even if a person increases his faith to the point where he has knowledge / gnosis to move mountains, much of his power could be sapped away, and he could become brutally pinned down, as part of the process of being purified by this world through suffering.

If anyone has faith, and sees that the things he prays for take a long time to come to bear, he should not be discouraged. He should look at his fundamental goodness, which bears evidence that the things he believes in are real, and be encouraged by it. Even if all creation was to crumble around a man, the man's fundamental goodness, which shows up reliably only when he has faith correctly, assures him that the things he believes in are real.

Therefore take heart while you have faith. Even though having faith is a long process which is difficult at times, and even though it may seem to take a long time to grow one's faith substantially, there is a whole lot of spiritual activity taking place around you while you are doing this, and the reward for sticking with is gigantic.