Is It Ever Rational To Have Faith In God

Essay from the year 2019 in the subject Philosophy - Theoretical (Realisation, Science, Logic, Language), grade: 4.1, University of California, Irvine, language: English, abstract: This paper will prove that it is rational to have faith in God. The discussion will be based on the basic arguments that have been used over the decades to attest God's existence. Over the past years, the question regarding rationality and faith in God has dominated many important discussions. In fact, the question has long been a source of argument amongst individuals who believe in God and those who believe that God exists. There is a difference between having faith in God and knowing that He exists. Believing in God means that one trusts Him and commits his or her life to Him whereas, the belief of God's existence is based on a specific proposition that demonstrates God exists (Jordan). It can be said that both logic show there is a God. Perhaps, without God, the universe and human beings would not have existed. As such, the universe is full of God's work, which makes one believe in God and His existence.

This updated edition by one of the world's leading apologists presents a systematic, positive case for Christianity that reflects the latest work in the contemporary hard sciences and humanities. Brilliant and accessible.

Do the objects that we perceive though our senses exist autonomously, independent of the mind that perceives them? Three and a half centuries have gone by without a universally acceptable solution. Jean-René Vernes shows that this failure results from the fundamental error in classical thinking, which identifies reason with determinant reason alone

If God exists, why doesn't he eliminate suffering and evil? Does evolution disprove Christianity? Can religion be explained by cognitive science? People have grappled for ages with these kinds of questions. And many in today's academic world find Christian belief untenable. But renowned philosopher Stephen Davis argues that belief in God is indeed a rational and intellectually sound endeavor. Drawing on a lifetime of rigorous reflection and critical thinking, he explores perennial and contemporary challenges to Christian faith. Davis appraises objections fairly and openly, offering thoughtful approaches to common intellectual problems. Real questions warrant reasonable responses. Examine for yourself the rationality of the Christian faith.

Renowned scholar William Lane Craig offers a readable, rich training manual for defending the Christian faith. This concise guide is filled with illustrations, sidebars, and memorizable steps to help Christians stand their ground and defend their faith with reason and precision. In his engaging style, Dr. Craig offers four arguments for God’s existence, defends the historicity of Jesus’ personal claims and resurrection, addresses the problem of suffering, and shows why religious relativism doesn’t work. Along the way, he shares his story of following God’s call in his own life. This one-stop, how-to-defend-your-faith manual will equip Christians to advance faith conversations deliberately, applying straightforward, cool-headed arguments. They will discover not just what they believe, but why they believe—and how being on guard with the truth has the power to change lives forever.

This book stands in the tradition of philosophers who advance the rationality of faith. Yet this book goes beyond their accounts, for it not only defends the view that faith can be termed rational, but it also considers the different senses in which faith can be termed rational. While this book advances the idea that faith as a general category can be termed rational, it does not investigate in a detailed way whether there are arguments for the rationality of particular faiths which would go beyond the arguments for the rationality of faith as a general category. Besides discussing whether betting on God in Pascal’s wager and believing in miracles are forms of the rationality of faith, I will provide unique solutions to the problem of evil and the paradoxes of omnipotence and omniscience.

Believe, by W. James.--Faith as passionate commitment, by S. Kierkegaard.--God as projection, by L.A. Feuerbach.--Bibliographical essay (p. 205-208).