September 29, 1998

Faith and Reason

I watched the fourth season ender of Babylon 5 again today. At one point in the show, a favorite quote of mine was told: "Faith and reason are the shoes upon your feet. You can get farther with both than just one."

When it comes to faith and reason, most people place them at opposite ends of the spectrum. Faith has nothing to do reason, reason nothing with faith. This goes back to the Old World ideal that science and the Church are mortal enemies, each trying to snuff out the other. Galileo being tried as a heretic for preaching the heliocentric theory is a prime example.

And yes, these two might have once been mortal enemies, and might still be. Evolution and Creationism is still a hot topic in schools today. However, faith and reason are not as concrete… they're more personal.

Reason is how we think and work things out. We use it to explain life. Sometimes, though, we can't explain all of something. Why do people die? Do I deserve a good hand in life? We can't use reason completely for these questions, so we have to take a leap… a leap of faith. Faith comforts us when we are lost about where to go… what to do.

While we might not be able to reconcile in society whether or not man came from ape or from dust, but at least we can decide it for ourselves using a pair of happy shoes known as faith and reason?