Thinking is a tool for faith. It is not against faith.

It is often said that faith and reason (thinking) don’t go together; that Christianity is based on faith not thinking.  Those who think this way think faith and reason are opposites, contradictions, or enemies.  This is not true at all.  Today I was reminded of this while reading in Richard Muller’s, Post-Reformation Dogmatics vol.1, pages 401-405.

Faith can only occur in rational human beings.  Faith is given by God the Spirit to creatures with minds.  He gives faith to the mind as that mind is illumined, brought to an understanding of Jesus Christ through Scripture.  It’s like turning the lights on in a dark room.  As soon as the light is switched on, your mind begins to work.  You see what is in the room; you understand where you are etc.  The Spirit is the one who turns on the lights so we can see Jesus Christ as he is taught in Scripture and offered to us in the gospel.  In his illumination we see, understand, believe, and think about God and all his grace.  Faith happens only when people think.  Conversely, true thinking and knowledge happens only where there is faith; because where there is faith there is God the Spirit who has first turned the lights on.

Thinking, according to the design of God (we were created in his image after all; and God thinks), is a tool.  It serves us for God’s glory.  Thinking is not the foundation of our faith, God’s revelation in Scripture and Christ has that role.  Rather, thinking discerns truth and recognizes heresy.  Our thinking has no authority to denounce the Trinity, or the incarnation.  These teachings are incomprehensible, yet are revealed as true by God himself.  Nevertheless, our thinking can identify transubstantiation and the perpetual virginity of Mary impossible because it goes against proper thinking.  Faith and theology do not embrace fideism.

There is a difference between truth statements of the bible like “Jesus is Lord,” and the corresponding human explanations and ramifications of that truth.  Faith says “Jesus is Lord” based on the Bible.  The axioms of faith are always provided by God’s revelation in Scripture and Christ.  However, the “connections or relationships between these axioms is apprehended by right reason.  Reason then, does not introduce into the text of Scripture a meaning that is not present there, but rather serves faith by drawing out legitimate conclusions from the text, by making explicit those truths which are presented implicitly.”  Pg., 401.  Scripture always comes first.  The Spirit turns the light on to that revelation so we can think properly.

So the truths of God given in Christ and Holy Scripture, though above and beyond reason, are not unreasonable or contrary to reason.  Thinking is a tool given by God, empowered and illumined by him to draw the conclusions, explanations, and applications intended by Scripture.  These conclusions, explanations, and applications, nevertheless, belong to faith since the subject is from God and his revelation.  Faith seeks understanding.