Which Is More Important To You - Faith Or Logic?

Discussion in 'Philosophy & Psychology' started by Lon Tanner, Dec 2, 2020.

  1. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    Tough Question because sometimes one denies the other. For me I believe logic to be more important.
     
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  2. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I suppose it depends upon the situation.
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Why would I have to choose? Faith is logical.
     
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  4. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    Do you think they will ultimately find life on Mars with the next probe?
     
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  5. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    Why is faith logical?
     
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  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Because my faith is based on that which seems logical to me.
     
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  7. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Maybe some microscopic amoebas or something. Who knows.
     
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  8. James Hintze

    James Hintze Very Well-Known Member
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    I have to weigh in on this one.

    I came out years ago as a non-proselytizing atheist, meaning that I have respect for believers. I might add that I see no separation between science and religion.

    Years ago I stumbled on to the writings of the German theologian Paul Tillich, who left Germany during the Hitler era. His message, as I interpret it, is that if you claim to be faithful, you damned well better see it as logical. If you can't do that, then the faith doesn't do you much good. His book of sermons, “The Eternal Now,” is available as etext:

    https://mercaba.org/SANLUIS/Filosofia/autores/Contempor%C3%A1nea/Tillich/The%20eternal%20now.pdf

    As a starter I'd suggest ch. 14: “In Thinking be Mature.”

    A few centuries back the French philosopher Blaise Pascal suggested something like “If you're not sure about the existence of God, you better go through the motions so as not to be condemned to Hell if He does exist. According to Tillich, that wouldn't cut it.
     
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  9. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I have always assumed that to be the case, for if an all-knowing God knows what is in your heart, "pretending" to believe is a waste of time.

    As an agnostic, I try to respect both Theists and Atheists. It is not up to me to judge anyone's beliefs or to denigrate them for it.
     
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  10. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
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    I don't know, logic or maybe a little of both. I don't think we will ever find life anywhere ourt in space
    and I kope we never get to mar nort spend too much money trying.
     
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  11. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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  12. Jeff Elohim

    Jeff Elohim Very Well-Known Member
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    My son brings 'reason' up a lot the last year or so. He relies on "reason" (and 'logic' with it?) to find the truth - and he did find the lies behind all the covid early on - nothing about covid should ever be believed nor trusted , ever. (whether by faith or by logic - either one).

    When his reason is not in line with faith, I ask him who told him that ? What is the source of info for reason ?

    There is a world full of things to substantiate 'reason' in many fields, so in each case and over all , what is the source of the info ?

    Compare to faith: the source is the Creator. (The Almighty, The One Who Created All Life and the Universe)

    So,
    if logic ever contradicts faith, what do you think happened ?

    Oh,btw, I know it is 'stepping on toes' and did not say anything in previous days,
    but for this discussion to make any sense at all, it must be recognized that
    the 'faith' of religious family members is often based on reason and on false facts, not from the Creator.
    Don't let that false misleading faith be confused with the true faith from and in and of the Creator. The difference is life and death, eternal life vs destruction.
     
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  13. James Hintze

    James Hintze Very Well-Known Member
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    I may be wrong, but it seems to be that that the comments here reveal trouble about finding the comfort that should come with religious faith. Maybe the question: "What is the purpose of life? Is it to add something good while being alive, or to secure something good in the afterlife?
     
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  14. Ed Wilson

    Ed Wilson Veteran Member
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    If you rely on logic, your logic could be faulty making you wrong. Just because our species learned to walk upright, doesn't mean we know all there is to know. I'm open to both faith and logic.
     
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  15. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Why are the two treated as exclusive when one begets the other based on whatever information a person has acquired?
    Some of the explorers of old believed the earth to be flat and if they traveled far enough they would drop off the edge.
    They looked and the earth looked flat so by reason, they had confidence or “faith” that the earth was flat.
    As more information was brought to light, logic through that information established that the earth is spherical and most have faith that the information is correct. I write, “most” because there are people who, with the information they have on hand, logically still believe the earth to be flat and have faith in that reasoning.

    Logic is nothing more than the sum of the amount of information one has been given.
    Faith is in two parts. Confidence that the information or facts one has been given is correct and faith that the sum is indeed the correct culmination of those facts.

    Asking which is more important is like asking if the more important feature of marriage is the man or the woman. We can treat each as being exclusive if we wish but the bottom line is that a marriage is incomplete without both.
     
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