Reasonable Faith

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“Christianity is a rational religion. If it’s not rational, it’s not Christian.” – John Wesley

“That knowledge [knowledge of God] is at least rational knowledge.” – Francis Schaefer, commenting on John 17:3

According to one online service, something is rational when it is “consistent with or based on or using reason.” Examples of the word’s use are: "rational behavior"; "a process of rational inference"; "rational thought."

Christianity is the most reasonable of religions. In fact, I would call it the only reasonable position to take.

We have nothing to fear from the facts. Unbelievers have good questions, but I find that those questions are rarely, if ever, new questions. The answers have been around for a long time. Many of them were answered by the Apostle Paul, and he used answers given him by study and meditation on Old Testament texts.

There is another part of this. A part that does not reflect well on American Christianity.

Another definition of “rational” is “intellectual: of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind. Examples of this use are: "intellectual problems"; "the triumph of the rational over the animal side of man.”

A sober analysis of Christianity as it is practiced in America yields a different answer with this definition: Christianity is certainly not rational. We do not engage in the life of the mind, particularly as it relates to religion. We simply do not use our minds at church.

I wonder if we will get back to the intellectual “heavy lifting.” We desperately need careful application of Bible truth to all of life. It’s the only reasonable thing to do. I like John H. Gerstner’s use of tautology: “It stands to reason: it is not reasonable to avoid reason.”

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