Reason and Faith ( Don’t let them divorce each other)

By Samuel Kwizera

Does the belief in God restrict the use of our mental faculties so as to have a communion with God? The body of Christ is living under the times prophesied by the apostles when people will give ears to the theology and teachings that favor their desire and allow them to pursue their needs despite of the clear truth written in the pages of the Bible. Every now and then I hear of a preacher who kills people with insecticide, one who told his church member to feed on grass like cows, and hundreds of others who manipulate their audience to get money and possessions which projects a dark image on the church at large.

This whole chaos is treacherously orchestrated on a plane called ignorance, Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge.

It’s a pity to see a number of believers who can’t explain why they are Christians, how that changes their way of life but still profess their belief in Christ. We aren’t called to blindly believe what everyone standing on the pulpit has to say and follow it religiously and in fact, it’s this kind of tendency that leads many to a conclusion that Christianity lacks reason.

From the beginning of Christianity in the first century, we have Jesus’ disciples like Peter asking Christians to do the needful concerning this and to quote him, “Always be ready to give everyone a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance that is within you. 1 peter 3:15 AMP.” We see Apostle Paul defending his belief in debates with the Jews and Greeks. Since the first century till now reason and faith have been but what went wrong?

The situation we have brought ourselves into highlights the need to let both faith and reason be in an eternal marriage like it has been from the beginning. It’s good to ask questions where you don’t understand, it’s not a sin to open your Bible and read the gospel for yourself. God does not rejoice in our ignorance but is praised in our need to know him with our minds, so we ought to continue rebuking any of us who glorify divorcing reason and faith but pursue using both for God’s glory

1 Peter 3:15-16

But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy and acknowledge Him as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully. And see to it that your conscience is entirely clear so that, when you are falsely accused as evildoers, those who threaten you abusively and revile your right behavior in Christ may come to be ashamed of slandering your good lives.