THE NATURE AND ROLES OF FAITH AND REASON IN THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN
ABSTRACT
Faith and reason are like two wings on which the spirit rises to the contemplation of truth. There is no incompatibility between the two, but rather an ultimate harmony. Faith is not opposed to reason; rather it requires the full development of reason. And reason itself requires faith in order to strengthen and guide it. The aim or purpose of the study is to assess The Nature and Roles of Faith and Reason in the Life of a Christian. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to expose the nature and roles of faith and reason in our lives, how they influence and have need of one another in the attainment of truth, and unveil the information about faith and reason within the grasp of many lay readers. This work can serve as a useful tool to them who lacking conscience attack God with pure reason, also to enquirers of rationalism and revelation. It will also strive to correct the notion of the layman, scientists, psychologists, religious fanatics and Christian believers. The study is expected that at the end of this paper that Christians will take delight in understanding and contemplating that which they believe, and that they might be prepared to give satisfactory answers to those who ask them for the reason for that hope which lies within them.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Introduction
Faith and reason have been considered to be sources of justification for religious belief. Because both purportedly serve this same epistemic function, it has been a matter of much interest to philosophers and theologians how the two are related and thus how the rational agent should treat claims derived from either source.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Faith and reason are like two wings on which the spirit rises to the contemplation of truth. There is no incompatibility between the two, but rather an ultimate harmony. Faith is not opposed to reason; rather it requires the full development of reason. And reason itself requires faith in order to strengthen and guide it. Some have held that there can be no conflict between the two- that reason properly employed and faith properly understood will never produce competing claims, where others have maintained that faith and reason can (or even must) be in genuine contention over certain propositions or methodologies. Those who have taken the latter view disagree as to whether faith or reason ought to prevail when the two are in conflict.
There are many problems that weigh on the life of man and very often man goes in search of the truth that lies behind these problems. Traditionally, faith and reason have been considered to be sources of justification for religious belief. Because both purportedly serve this same epistemic function, it has been a matter of much interest to philosophers and theologians how the two are related and thus how the rational agent should treat claims derived from either source.
Kierkegaard for instance, prioritizes faith even to the point that it becomes positively irrational, while Locke emphasizes the reasonableness of faith to such an extent that a religious doctrine’s irrationality- conflict with itself or with known facts- is a sign that it is unsound. Other thinkers have theorized that faith and reason can govern their own separate domains, such that cases of apparent conflict are resolved on the side of faith when the claim in question is, say, a religious or theological claim, but resolved on the side of reason when the disputed claim is, for example, empirical or logical. Some relatively recent philosophers, most notably the logical positivists, have denied that there is a domain of thought or human existence rightly governed by faith, asserting instead that all meaningful statements and ideas are accessible to thorough rational examination. This has presented a challenge to religious thinkers to explain how an admittedly non-rational or translational form of language can hold meaningful cognitive content. It is based on these that the philosophy of Saint Augustine of Hippo has become a veritable ground to attempt to quench this controversy and problem of faith and reason.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Nature and Roles of Faith and Reason in the Life of a Christian.
1.3 Statement of the Problem
Investigation revealed the philosophical issue regarding the problem of faith and reason is to work out how the authority of faith and the authority of reason interrelate in the process by which a religious belief is justified or established as true. The questions raised are:
- How shall we Christians deal with apparent conflicts between faith and reason, between teaching of the bible and the teachings of science?
- As a special case, how shall we deal with apparent conflicts between what the Bible initially seems to tell us about the origin and development of life, and what contemporary science seems to tell us about it?
- We have two principles in operation, reason on the one side, and faith leaning on authority on the other; and if the one should be at discord with the other, how are the respective claims of each to be settled?
Throughout this work the principle is affirmed and reaffirmed that faith and reason are really complementary, and neither should be sacrificed for the other.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim or purpose of the study is to assess the Nature and Roles of Faith and Reason in the Life of a Christian. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To expose the nature and roles of faith and reason in our lives, how they influence and have need of one another in the attainment of truth.
- To unveil the information about faith and reason within the grasp of many lay readers.
And it is expected that at the end of this paper that Christians will take delight in understanding and contemplating that which they believe, and that they might be prepared to give satisfactory answers to those who ask them for the reason for that hope which lies within them.
1.5 Significance of Study
This work can serve as a useful tool to them who lacking conscience attack God with pure reason, also to enquirers of rationalism and revelation. It will also strive to correct the notion of the layman, scientists, psychologists, religious fanatics and Christian believers. It intensifies the need for every faith to be based on reason and every reason to be likewise based on faith. This is because, as faith is the logical foundation for all reasoning, so also, reason is a necessary condition for a well meaning and grounded faith.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Nature and Roles of Faith and Reason in the Life of a Christian in Nigeria. The research centers on the philosophy of Saint Augustine of Hippo, with special focus on the interdependence or philosophical relationship that lies between faith and reason in the attainment of truth and how the two are to be treated in our lives.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
1.8 Methodology
The researcher adopted the phenomenological method: critical exposition and textual analysis of relevant materials. Both books written by Saint Augustine and works written by various scholars that have proven to be of great relevance to the given literature, and then commentaries, articles, encyclopedia and other richly endowed documentaries and publications, library were used.
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
The review of relevant literature is the main topic of this chapter. A literature review covers theoretical and methodological contributions to a certain issue in addition to the state of knowledge at the time of writing. It provides information about the state of the art in relation to the subject you are writing about. It examines the body of work on the chosen subject. The literature evaluation in this study comprises the …
Procedure for Downloading the PDF (Docx) Material
The Nature and Roles of Faith and Reason in the Life of a Christian can be downloaded by requesting the full set of materials at the project or seminar cost. The document will be sent via Microsoft Word (MS-Word) format via WhatsApp (e-mail) following payment confirmation.
| Seminar Material Cost ₦3,000 | Project Material Cost ₦5,000 |
Request Complete Material
 | Click here to request the Complete Material via WhatsApp including;
|
Disclaimer for Complete Material Utilization
The displayed research work titled "The Nature and Roles of Faith and Reason in the Life of a Christian" is stated as a research guideline towards accomplishing your assigned project / seminar research work. All the research materials on this website are ONLY for research purposes and should be used as a guideline in developing your research work. For no reason should you copy word for word as projectlist.com.ng will not be liable for any who copied the material. By ordering the complete research guideline, it signifies that you've accepted our terms of service.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can the material for “Exploration and Exploitation of Sources of Fund Available to Small and Medium Scale Enterprise” be used as a guide for Banking and Finance (BF) Project?
Yes it can be used — The main purpose of this study is to identify, explorate and explorative the sources of funds available to the small and medium scale enterprises in Enugu State. To do this, data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The main instrument of data collection was the questionnaire. The data were presented in tables as frequency, distribution in the data analysis, the techniques of percentage frequencies were used, the hypothesis were tested with Chi-square technique as 52 level of significance. The research work of exploration and exploitation of sources of fund available to SMEs in Enugu states is carefully prepared to strength into the sources of funding SMEs fro employment opportunities growth and development of the state and Nigeria at …
Can the material for “Provisions of Adequate Employment and Regulations for Seafarers in Nigeria” be used as a guide for Marine Engineering Project?
Yes it can be used — The study was carried out to investigate the provisions of adequate employment and regulations for seafarers in Nigeria. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to examine the factors instigating the provisions of adequate employment, evaluate the laid out regulations governing the activities of seafarers and find out if the regulations for seafarers increases the employees’ performance and productivity in Nigerian Ports Authority. The research design used in this report is descriptive design, utilizing questionnaire method to obtain information from the respondents for this project. A total of 200 (two hundred) respondents were selected for this study to represent the entire population of the study. For null hypotheses were formulated and tested using the one-way ANOVA …
Can the material for “Socio-Cultural Impact of Childless” be used as a guide for Sociology Project?
Yes it can be used — The research is an analysis of the socio-cultural impact of childless married couples, and it was carried out in Fagge local government area of Kano state. The study explored ways of reducing pressure both from the family and the society as a whole with particular reference to examining the existing causes and effects of infertility in the society. The instrument for data collection used for this research was questionnaire. The sampling techniques used for this study was cross- sectional survey research design. One hundred and thirteen (113) respondents were randomly selected. The data collected were analyzed using tables and percentages. From the analysis of the data, the major findings among others include; women are not fully blamed for the cause of …
Can this topic “Evaluation of Calcium in Cheese for Recommended Dietary Allowance” be used for Agricultural Engineering (AE) Project?
Yes it can be utilized for research — Cheese, a popular food across many cultures has been subject of many studies. It’s of many variants, providing huge nutritional value to humans. One of those many nutrients is calcium. Calcium helps the body in building bone structures amongst other important functions. In this study, we aimed at determining the proportion of calcium content in cheese. Thus, recommending a daily intake of cheese for Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for calcium. Samples of Cheese were collected from five zones in the Lagos environs. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Titrimetric methods were used for determining the calcium content. The two methods used in this analysis have showed to be appropriate for the determination of calcium in cheese. From the results, the calcium …
Can the material for “Problems and Prospect of Personnel Management in Government Commercial Parastatals” be used as a guide for Personnel Management Project?
Yes it can be used — The problems and prospects of personnel management in Enugu state Government parastatals, a cast study of Enugu state Marketing Company Limited is the focus of this study. This was however carried out with a view to determining the personal polices of this organization and the extent to which it has been adhered to: to identify the problem encountered in the implementation of the policies and make recommendations based on the findings on how best to remedy the problem. For the purpose of study, respondents were drawn by means of stratified random sampling data were collected by the use of questionnaire interviews and library researches. These data were presented and analysed using percentages tables and bar charts. While Chi-square statistics was …
Is the topic “The Effects of Personnel Management in the Development of Public Liability Companies” recommended for Personnel Management Project?
Yes it is highly recommended — This research project is designed to investigate the effects of personnel management in the development of public liability companies with special references to selected firms in the communication industry. In this project MTN, GLO, CELTEL networks were chosen from among the various. Therefore, embraces the total background study of the effect of personnel management in the public liability company. The population of the study consisted of 90 employees of the three selected firms in the communication industry (MTN, GLO, and CELTEL) in Port Harcourt, the sample size for the study was 73 employees drawn from the population using simple random sampling. The study also reviews the literature under study which aim to exploring further, the effects of personnel management in …
Is the topic “The Effects of Increase in Tuition Fees on Business Education Students’ Enrolment in Tertiary Institutions” recommended for Business Education Project?
Yes it is highly recommended — Tuition fee generally refers to a mandatory charge levied upon all students covering some portion of the general underlying costs of instruction. The study was carried out to investigate the Effects of Increase in Tuition Fees on Business Education Students’ Enrolment in Tertiary Institutions. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to investigate the effect of increased tuition fees/school charges on the business education student enrolment and examine the trend of business education students’ enrollment and tuition fees in area under study. Investigation revealed that critics of the tuition fees enrolment of students have increased in the demand for and enrolment in university education. The research design used in this report is descriptive design, utilizing questionnaire …
Can the material for “The Role of Purchasing Information System in Running Rail System” be used as a guide for Purchasing and Supply (PS) Project?
Yes it can be used — The study scrutinizes the Role of Purchasing Information System in Running Rail System. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to examine the efficient of purchasing information system towards the enhancement of in Running Rail System and assess the use of the information supplied to them from within and outside the organization in Running Rail System. The realization of the purchasing information system (P.I.S) need is not restricted to business organization only. The growth and the complexity of firms have necessitated the call and need for role and efficient purchasing information system. There have been wide spread cases of inefficient decision making lack of accurate information, which shelter the efforts of an organization toward the achievement …
Is the topic “Design and Implementation of a Computerized Student Registration Number System” recommended for Computer Science (CS) Project?
Yes it is highly recommended — A number of problems associated with student registration number which include include improper course registration, late release of students’ results, and inaccuracy due to manual and tedious calculation and retrieval difficulties/inefficiency due to Lack of Student Registration number. In most cases the data generated by academic institutions are usually created in non-delineated files for use by different departments/units within the institutions with the same data appearing on several of these files. This means that a simple change of address would have to be processed in two and probably three or four places, depending on the number of other files on which these data appears. The development of database concept is the answer to these problems where the amount of redundant …
Can this topic “Design of Road Pavement Linking Mass Communication Department and Federal Secretariat Industrial Centre” be used for Industrial Design Project?
Yes it can be utilized for research — This research work was undertaken by the author, aimed at providing explanation of the basic theory of the work of road design and its associated activities also, to cover practical methods of working. In pursuit of the meaningful completion this project a lot of investigation was embarked with principles and practice of road construction. The total distance of route was determined and stations established bearing in mind the intervisibility of the stations. Leveling was carried out to obtain information on the profile of the route for proper earthwork knowledge which theodolite traversing was carried out to obtain the plan and horizontal alignment of the route Soil analysis, gave the proper constitute of the soil which was also carried out to …