A Look at Faith and Reason

Truth needs to be sought by faith and reason to create a balanced perspective. Gödel’s incompleteness theorem explains some of the limitations of arithmetic and logic. He found that any axiomatizable system, such as science, is either incomplete or inconsistent. A complete set has a proof, or rational explanation, for every truth within the given set, and a consistent set is void of contradictions. Thus to avoid contradictions, there are inherently problems with no solutions and truths with no explanation, such truths go beyond the reach of science and call for faith. Similarly, faith is just as dependent on reason, the tool used to determine the difference between revelations from God or a schizophrenic person. The pursuit of truth is merely faith and reason correcting for the limitations of the other. The need for the balance can be seen in the fact that science only accepts something that cannot be disproved, never actually proving the idea, while faith initially accepts an idea as truth and then acts. On one hand there is the extreme skeptic, and on the other hand the extreme optimist. Together they create a powerful team for discovering both complete and incomplete truths. We are to learn by study, reason, and by faith.

Since complete truths are accepted as true because their rational justifications provides sufficient evidence to cast off doubt, our understanding is limited to a set of knowledge that is considerably smaller than the set of truths without explanations, or equations without answers. Seeking greater wisdom and knowledge must be done in faith with real intentions; as explained by Michael Wesch in his address to BYU students given January 22 2013. In describing the learning process, he taught about the importance of asking questions, an act that transforms the internet and technology from an extremely distracting medium to the most powerful knowledge machine known to man. Questioning requires uncertainty, a lack of evidence, and a desire to seek after this evidence. The desire can be strong enough to carry man onward past more than 2,000 failures to find tungsten and invent the light bulb. Thomas Edison probably took each failure as a learning opportunity, learning that each element could not produce light. This process is taught in Proverbs 1:5 “A wise man will hear and will increase learning.” Wisdom is hearing and then increasing in learning. The passion derived from one’s own curiosity will drive the learner to listen (or hear) very attentively. Similarly failures can be turned into successes as they increase a person's learning. Dr. Wesch taught that asking such powerful questions requires the inquirer to experience awe, to appreciate the simple things in life with a sense awe and wonderment. In the scriptures this awe is considered to be a deep reverence for God “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (proverbs 1:7). Seeking truth requires us to go beyond reason with faith unto acquiring a deep reverence and respect for God. Such reverence combined with reason provides the evidence for incomplete truths, just as logic provides evidence for complete truths. Seeking truth by reason alone may provide knowledge, but it does not instill divine truths in the learner and denies them the joy of awe, The joy of strengthening the child’s relationship with their Father in Heaven.