{Faith and Reason

friends or foes?

Must you choose?

Enemies?

Saint Dominic

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Albert the Great

Exemplars

“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth- in a word, to

know himself- so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also

come to the fullness of truth about themselves.”

Fides et RatioPope John Paul II, Fides Et Ratio: On the Relationship Between Faith and Reason: Encyclical Letter of John

Paul II

“Born and nurtured when the human being first asked questions about the reason for things and their purpose, philosophy shows in different modes

and forms that the desire for truth is part of human nature itself. It is an innate property of human reason

to ask why things are as they are…”Fides et Ratio

Pope John Paul II, Fides Et Ratio: On the Relationship Between Faith and Reason: Encyclical Letter of John Paul II

“[John Paul II] recognized that science and Scripture sometimes have

‘apparent contradictions,’ but said that when this is the case, a

‘solution’ must be found because ‘truth cannot contradict truth.’”

Contradictions?Linder, D. 2004. The Vatican's View of Evolution: The Story of Two Popes. http

://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/vaticanview.html .

Contradictions?

Dictionary.com definition of apparent:“according to appearances, initial evidence, incomplete results, etc.; ostensible rather than actual”

The Pope suggests that anything that seems like a contradiction between faith and science is truly a case of misinformation or misunderstanding

“Solutions”

The solutions he speaks of are either:1) refining a scientific explanation2) reexamining scripture in light of

current findings 3) delving into theology to explain the

lack of contradiction adequately

“Truth cannot contradict Truth”

The Church’s doctrine is TRUTH

Anything that appears to contradict it is either incorrect or is interpreted incorrectly

Theology vs. Science

While never OPPOSED, they do not study the world through the same lens or with the same goal

Science studies the MATERIAL world

Theology sees the material world, but in light of the immaterial world

Theology ScienceConcerned with immaterial world Concerned with material world

Concerned with eternal life and salvation

Concerned with temporal reality

Will not claim to be experts on laws of nature

Will not claim to be capable of defining dogma or rationalizing matters of faith

Considers science a valuable tool for understanding what is revealed to us

Considers theology a valuable starting point and motivation for its own study

Theology vs. Science

“The gaze of science thus benefits from faith: faith encourages the scientist to remain

constantly open to reality in all its inexhaustible richness. Faith awakens the critical sense by preventing research from being satisfied with its own formulae and helps it to realize that nature is always

greater…”

Pope FrancisPope Francis, Lumen Fidei: Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis

Remember!

Remember that faith and reason are TWO WINGS, so we don’t “switch” between the two—

We can (must) be SIMULTANEOUSLY faithful and reasonable!

It is about a worldview—seeing the world as ONE Truth—a multifaceted truth, but one Truth