Faith & Reason, on Relationship

In the Christian tradition, Philosophy and Theology have not always sat together easily. While theologians from Clement of Alexandria to Augustine to Aquinas have embraced Philosophy eagerly and used it extensively in their theology, for others such as Tertullian, Luther, Calvin, or Nygren, Philosophy has been a source of corrupting errors which ruin faith or of poisonous skepticism which destroys faith and endangers salvation itself. In the Catholic tradition however, Philosophy has often been an essential tool used to clarify issues and matters of faith. In this regard, Catholicism is often strongly condemned by both the Orthodox, who claim (particularly when it came to utilising philosophical logic in trying to understand God) from departing from the Patristic 'mindset' of the Fathers, or from Protestants, who claimed Philosophy and Logic were unbiblical or distorted plain scriptural truths and merely put a massive man-made barrier between God and the Christian believer, as well as corrupting pure Apostolic and Biblical Christianity by introducing ideas from Greek philosophy or metaphysics into the faith itself (a claim strong amoung thinkers ranging from Luther and Calvin to Karl Barth, Adolf Von Harnack, and Anders Nygren, all very powerful theologians in their own right, whose insights cannot lightly be disregarded). Pope John Paul's encyclical is an important defence of the role reason and philosophy have to play in theology, especially in the sense of participating in God's wisdom. This concept goes back to Augustine and Aquinas, and also to an extent in the Eastern tradition, whereby the mind of the Christian partakes in the mind of God or God's attribute of wisdom, and in so doing learns to understand the mysteries of faith better and thus grows in faith. The main difference is in Western Catholicism this process takes place through a mixture of mystical contemplation mixed with philosophical analysis and logic, while in Eastern Christianity the ascent to God is mostly liturgical and mystical and God's essence is strongly protected against any human logic by a powerful veil of apophaticism. The same also occurs in many strands of Catholic spirituality also (especially in Eckhart and John of the Cross), but John Paul is keen for Catholic theologians and scholars to utilise and engage in Philosophy as a part of seeking understanding in faith. To the philosopher, this encyclical represents a valuable encouragement of the spirit of Philosophical inquiry, which in my view is essential, especially in religion, to make sure intellectual systems have some sort of vitality and relevance to the modern world and life. Unless Christian scholars creatively and constructively engage in an active and critical reflection on our past heritage, and use it to deal with today's difficult questions, then the faith risks becoming outmoded and boring in the face of modern questions and challenges. Yet the wisdom of God searches out and reaches u

In Fides et Ratio, Pope John Paul II is addressing Catholic bishops regarding the value and relationship philosophy holds in regards to theology. The purpose of the encyclical letter is to stem certain abusive tendencies among theologians that distort divine revelation and to urge a new interest in philosophy as a means of articulating Christian truth. Divine revelation by its very nature proposes to man certain truths not naturally accessible to man from the standpoint of pure reason. Methodical reason, however, can explore these revealed truths in relation to established universal objective principles. A symbiotic relationship can therefore develop between theology and philosophy in which theology provides direction to the human quest for meaning and understanding and philosophy provides the language and method for articulating divine revelation. Divine and natural truth cannot be at odds since they both emanate from the God who is Truth, Jesus Christ. The Holy Father addresses the fact that much of modern philosophy bears a mistrust of reason and has abandoned metaphysical studies, having no confidence in the existence of universal truths. This has led to a crisis of meaning and contributes to the phenomenon of widespread despair and the culture of death. Finding universal truths to be confining, and limiting as regards freedom, modern philosophy has abandoned their pursuit and focuses upon utilitarian endeavors. The Holy Father warns that such a path, as embodied in such philosophies as the will to power, are ultimately self-destructive and lead to a disintegration of the human community. To deny the existence of universal truth is ultimately to deny existence. Nothing could be said to exist, not even one's own phenomenological experience. Truth, conversely, does not bind freedom, but is rather freedom's sole path. Any philosophy that denies the existence of truth is ultimately of no human value since it is absolutely at odds with lived experience. Human beings base their lives, their existence, upon what they know - whether through reason or divine revelation. If nothing can be know, as so much of modern philosophy contends, then our lives, our civilization, is groundless and doomed to fall. Truth, however, is inherently sought after by the human person and no matter what the philosophers say, man will not allow it to die. The Church for its part must insure that the articulation of revealed Christian truth proceeds within linguistic methods of reasoning, themselves based upon natural truth that in its own manner proceeds from God.