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[quote=Anonymous]"Faith is what someone knows to be true, whether they believe it or not." 
Flannery O'Connor

I heard this quote at my book club last night, and thought it enigmatic, but applicable to our conversation.

And I wanted to apologize for something.  Several PPs have said pointedly that reason and faith don't mix.  Several times, I have disagreed.  But I was missing the point.  I was too focused on the philosophical discussion, and ironically missed the forest for the trees.  I am embarrassed to admit it, but I need to own up to my mistake.

For a complete examination of the interplay of faith and reason, I must cite [i]Fides et Ratio[/i], an encyclical on the subject.  But basically, faith and reason are both ways to know the truth.  Faith is knowing through trust. Reason is knowing through personal thinking, observation or experience.

Scientists use faith to know the truth.  They trust one another's honest work.  No one scientist could apply the scientific method to every hypothesis from the very start.  But this faith is not a blind faith.  It is based on reason.  The trust is still based on the scientific method.  But there is no necessary conflict between what science discovers and faith in God:

"It is the one and the same God who establishes and guarantees the intelligibility and reasonableness of the natural order of things upon which scientists confidently depend, and who reveals himself as [God]."

But I was very wrong about a crucial point:  reason will never, ever give you faith:  "Although faith, a gift of God, is not based on reason, it can certainly not dispense with it. At the same time, it becomes apparent that reason needs to be reinforced by faith, in order to discover horizons it cannot reach on its own."

Again, this was pointed out many times, and I just didn't get it.  I thought I did, but I didn't.  Perhaps because my faith began with an intellectual quest, and because my background is in philosophy, I was blind.  I'm sorry.

I have a shirt that says "God is love."  Knowing God is like falling in love.  Way back on page 3 or so, I said that was my faith.  But then I got caught up in these metaphysical and scientific discussions, and even though I said no argument ever led to God, I kept focusing on the back and forth.

I've learned so much from PPs, and I am so grateful for that.  But I am truly sorry for and embarrassed about my mistakes.  My sincere apologies.

[/quote]

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