In Christian theology, several belief systems that hold, on various grounds, that reason is irrelevant to religious faith have been labelled as fideism. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... Reason is a term used in philosophy and other human sciences to refer to the higher cognitive faculties of the human mind. ... The word faith has various uses; its central meaning is similar to belief, trust or confidence, but unlike these terms, faith tends to imply a transpersonal rather than interpersonal relationship – with God or a higher power. ...

The word is also occasionally used to refer to the Protestant belief that Christians are saved by faith alone: for which see sola fide. This position is sometimes called solifidianism. Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing the splitting away from the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late Renaissance in Europe—a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ... The word faith has various uses; its central meaning is similar to belief, trust or confidence, but unlike these terms, faith tends to imply a transpersonal rather than interpersonal relationship – with God or a higher power. ... Sola fide (by faith alone), also historically known as the justification of faith, is a doctrine that distinguishes Protestant denominations from Catholicism and Eastern Christianity in Christianity The doctrine of Sola Fide or Faith Alone asserts that it is on the basis of Gods grace through the believers... Sola fide (by faith alone), also historically known as the justification of faith, is a doctrine held by some Protestant denominations of Christianity, which asserts that it is on the basis of their faith that believers are forgiven their transgressions of the Law of God, rather than on the basis...

Blaise Pascal believed that direct arguments for the existence of God were futile, so he argued instead that religious practice was a good idea.

Image File history File links Blaise Pascal source : http://www. ... Image File history File links Blaise Pascal source : http://www. ... Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623–August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. ...

The logic of fideism

Alvin Plantinga defines "fideism" as "the exclusive or basic reliance upon faith alone, accompanied by a consequent disparagement of reason and utilized especially in the pursuit of philosophical or religious truth." The fideist therefore "urges reliance on faith rather than reason, in matters philosophical and religious," and therefore may go on to disparage the claims of reason. The fideist seeks truth, above all: and affirms that reason cannot achieve certain kinds of truth, which must instead be accepted only by faith. Plantinga's definition might be revised to say that what the fideist objects to is not so much "reason" per se — it seems excessive to call Blaise Pascal anti-rational — but evidentialism: the notion that no belief should be held unless it is supported by evidence. Alvin Plantinga (born 15 November 1932 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, of Frisian ancestry) is a contemporary American philosopher known for his work in epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of religion. ... When someone sincerely agrees with an assertion, they are claiming that it is the truth. ... Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623–August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. ... Evidentialism is a theory of justification according to which believing proposition p is justified for some agent S at time t iff S s total evidence at t supports p; that, in short, the justified attitude toward a proposition, be it belief, disbelief, or suspension of judgment, is the one...

The fideist notes that religions that are founded on revelation call their faithful to believe in a transcendent deity even if believers cannot fully understand the object of their faith. Some fideists also observe that human rational faculties are themselves untrustworthy, because the entire human nature has been corrupted by sin, and as such the conclusions reached by human reason are therefore untrustworthy: the truths affirmed by divine revelation must be believed even if they find no support in human reason. Fideism, of a sort which has been called naive fideism, is one frequently found response to anti-religious arguments; the fideist resolves to hold to what has been revealed as true in his faith, in the face of contrary lines of reasoning. Sin has been a term most usually used in a religious context, and today describes any lack of conformity to the will of God; especially, any willful disregard for the norms revealed by God is a sin. ...

Specifically, fideism teaches that rational or scientific arguments for the existence of God are fallacious and irrelevant, and have nothing to do with the truth of Christian theology. Its argument in essence goes: Many arguments about the Existence of God have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, and other thinkers. ...

• Christian theology teaches that people are saved by faith in the Christian god. (i.e. trust in the empirically unprovable).
• But, if the Christian God's existence can be proven, either empirically or logically, to that extent faith becomes unnecessary or irrelevant.
• Therefore, if Christian theology is true, no immediate proof of the Christian God's existence is possible.

Salvation refers to deliverance from an undesirable state or condition. ... The word faith has various uses; its central meaning is similar to belief, trust or confidence, but unlike these terms, faith tends to imply a transpersonal rather than interpersonal relationship – with God or a higher power. ... Empiricism is the philosophical doctrine of testing or experimentation, and has taken on the more specific meaning that all human knowledge ultimately comes from the senses and from experience. ... Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, (but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of criteria for the evaluation of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy among philosophers. ...

Fideism in Christianity

This sort of fideism has a long history in Christianity. It can plausibly be argued as an interpretation of 1 Corinthians, wherein Paul says: An early portrait of the Apostle Paul. ...

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe . . . For the foolishness of God is wiser than (the wisdom of) men. (1 Cor. 1:21, 25)

Paul's contrast of the folly of the Gospel with earthly wisdom may relate to a statement made Jesus himself, recorded in Luke 10:21: See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ... Jesus (Greek: , Iēsous) (8-2 BC/BCE – 29-36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene, is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ, where Christ is a Greek title meaning Anointed, corresponding to the Hebrew... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ...

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (ESV)

The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Holy Bible. ...

Tertullian and fideism

The statement "Credo quia absurdum" ("I believe because it is absurd"), often attributed to Tertullian, is sometimes cited as an example of such a view in the Church Fathers, but this appears to be a misquotation from Tertullian's De Carne Christi (External Link: On the Flesh of Christ). What he actually says in DCC 5 is ". . . the Son of God died; it is by all means to be believed, because it is absurd." Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ... The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ...

This may be a statement of a fideist position, but it is also possible--and rendered somewhat plausible by the context--that Tertullian was simply engaging in ironic overstatement.

Blaise Pascal and fideism

A more sophisticated form of fideism is assumed by Pascal's Wager. Blaise Pascal invites the sceptic to see faith in God as a cost-free choice that carries a potential reward. He does not attempt to argue that God indeed exists, only that it might be valuable to assume that it is true. Pascal's attitude has some commonality with another prominent Catholic writer of his period, Michel de Montaigne, who in his Essays shows a certain amount of sympathy with skepticism. In his Pensées, Pascal writes: Blaise Pascal argued that it is a better bet to believe in God than not to do so. ... Skepticism (Commonwealth spelling: Scepticism) can mean: Philosophical skepticism - a philosophical position in which people choose to critically examine whether the knowledge and perceptions that they have are actually true, and whether or not one can ever be said to have absolutely true knowledge; or Scientific skepticism - a scientific, or practical... Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592) was an influential French Renaissance writer, generally considered to be the inventor of the personal essay. ... The Pensées (literally, thoughts) represented an apology for the Christian religion by Blaise Pascal, the renowned 17th century philosopher and mathematician. ...

Who then will blame Christians for not being able to give reasons for their beliefs, since they profess belief in a religion which they cannot explain? They declare, when they expound it to the world, that it is foolishness, stultitiam; and then you complain because they do not prove it! If they proved it, they would not keep their word; it is through their lack of proofs that they show they are not lacking in sense.
     (Pensées, no, 201).

Pascal moreover contests the various proposed proofs of the existence of God as irrelevant. Even if the proofs were valid, the beings they propose to demonstrate are not congruent with the deity worshipped by historical faiths: "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — not the god of the philosophers!" To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that Ishaq be merged into this article or section. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Hamann and fideism

Considered to be the father of modern irrationalism, Johann Georg Hamann promoted a view that elevated faith alone as the only guide to human conduct. Using the work of David Hume he argued that everything people do is ultimately based on faith. Without faith (for it can never be proved) in the existence of an external world human affairs could not continue, therefore, he argued, all reasoning comes from this faith: it is fundamental to the human condition. Thus all attempts to base belief in God using Reason are in vain. He virulently attacks systems like Spinozism that try to confine what he feels is the infinite majesty of God into a finite human creation. There is only one path to God, that of a childlike faith not Reason. Johann Georg Hamann (1730 - 1788) was a German pietist protestant, thinker, and friend of the philosopher Immanuel Kant. ... David Hume (April 26, 1711 – August 25, 1776)[1] was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian who was one of the most important figures of the Scottish Enlightenment. ...

Kierkegaard and fideism

A fideist position of this general sort — that God's existence cannot be certainly known, and that the decision to accept faith is neither founded on, nor needs, rational justification — may be found in the writings of Søren Kierkegaard and his followers in Christian existentialism. Many of Kierkegaard's works, including Fear and Trembling, are under pseudonyms; they may represent the work of fictional authors whose views correspond to hypothetical positions, not necessarily those held by Kierkegaard himself. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (IPA: ) (5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855), a 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian, is generally recognized as the first existentialist philosopher. ... Christian existentialism is a school of thought founded by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. ... Fear and Trembling Fear and Trembling (original Danish title: Frygt og Bæven) is a philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio. ... A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to his or her legal name. ...

In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard focused on Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac. The New Testament apostles repeatedly argued that Abraham's act was an admirable display of faith. To the eyes of a non-believer, however, it must necessarily have appeared to be an unjustifiable attempted murder, perhaps the fruit of an insane delusion. Kierkegaard used this example to focus attention on the problem of faith in general.

Fideism and presuppositional apologetics

Presuppositional apologetics is a Christian system of apologetics associated with Calvinism; it attempts to distinguish itself from fideism, although some may find the difference elusive. It holds that Christian theology must begin with the proposition that the revelations contained in the Bible (or any other sources of divine revelation) are axiomatic. To a non-believer who rejects the notion that truth about God can be found within those sources, Christian theology literally has nothing to say. Presuppositional apologetics is a school of Christian apologetics, a field of Christian theology that attempts to (1) present a rational basis for the Christian faith, (2) defend the faith against objections, and (3) attack the alleged flaws of other worldviews. ... Apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of a position. ... Calvinism is a system of Christian theology and an approach to Christian life and thought, articulated by Theodore Beza, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and subsequently by successors, associates, followers and admirers of Beza and his interpretation of Scripture. ... Christian theology practices theology from a Christian viewpoint or studies Christianity theologically. ... For information on the last book of the New Testament see the Book of Revelation. ... The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word Scripture, Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the classical name for the Hebrew Bible of Judaism or the combination of the Old Testament and New Testament of Christianity. ... In epistemology, an axiom is a self-evident truth upon which other knowledge must rest, from which other knowledge is built up. ...

This sort of fideism is an outgrowth of the thought of Ludwig Wittgenstein, who taught that language was like a game, in that different sorts of discourse must be judged under their own proper set of rules and not another's. The determination of the truth of religious statements cannot be determined by resort to the rules governing logical or scientific statements. Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (IPA: ) (April 26, 1889 – April 29, 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking works to modern philosophy, primarily on the foundations of logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. ... This article is about a recreational activity. ...

Theologies opposed to fideism

Fideism rejected by the Roman Catholic Church

Some theologies, however, strongly reject fideism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, representing Roman Catholicism's great regard for Thomism, the teachings of St Thomas Aquinas, affirms that it is a doctrine of Roman Catholicism that God's existence can indeed be demonstrated by reason. Aquinas's rationalism has deep roots in Western Christianity; it goes back to St Augustine's observation that the role of reason was to explain faith more fully: fides quærens intellectum, "faith seeking understanding," is his formula. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, or CCC, is an official exposition of the teachings of the Catholic Church, first published in French in 1992 by the authority of Pope John Paul II.[1] Subsequently, in 1997, a Latin text was issued which is now the official text of reference... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Thomism is the philosophical school that followed in the legacy of St. ... Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ... Augustine may refer to: Saints: Augustine of Hippo, (354-430) theologian, author of The City of God, Confessions Augustine of Canterbury, (d. ...

The official position of Roman Catholicism is that while the existence of the one God can in fact be demonstrated by reason, men can nevertheless be deluded by their sinful natures to deny the claims of reason that demonstrate God's existence. The Anti-Modernist oath promulgated by Pope Pius X required Roman Catholics to affirm that: His Holiness St. ... Pope Saint Pius X (Latin: ), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto (June 2, 1835 – August 20, 1914), was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903). ...

. . . God, the origin and end of all things, can be known with certainty by the natural light of reason from the created world (cf. Rom. 1:20), that is, from the visible works of creation, as a cause from its effects, and that, therefore, his existence can also be demonstrated. . .

Similarly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that:

Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. the human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful.
     — Catechism of the Catholic Church, ss. 37.

Pope John Paul II's encyclical Fides et Ratio also affirms that God's existence is in fact demonstrable by reason, and that attempts to reason otherwise are the results of sin. In the encyclical, John Paul II warned against "a resurgence of fideism, which fails to recognize the importance of rational knowledge and philosophical discourse for the understanding of faith, indeed for the very possibility of belief in God." Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005) reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from October 16, 1978 until his death, making his the second-longest pontificate. ... In the ancient Church, an encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area. ... Fides et Ratio (Latin: faith and reason) is an encyclical promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 1988-09-15. ...

Historically, there have been a number of fideist strains within the Roman Catholic orbit. Catholic traditionalism, exemplified in the nineteenth century by Joseph de Maistre, emphasized faith in tradition as the means of divine revelation. The claims of reason are multiple, and various people have argued rationally for several contradictory things: in this environment, the safest course is to hold true to the faith that has been preserved through tradition, and to resolve to accept what the Church has historically taught. In his essay Du pape ("On the Pope"), de Maistre argued that it was historically inevitable that all of the Protestant churches would eventually seek reunification and refuge in the Roman Catholic Church: science was the greater threat, it threatened all religious faith, and "no religion can resist science, except one." Traditional Catholic is a broad term used to describe many groups of Roman Catholics who follow more traditional aspects of the Catholic Faith. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Joseph de Maistre (portrait by Karl Vogel von Vogelstein, 1810) Joseph-Marie, Comte de Maistre (April 1, 1753- February 26, 1821) was a French-speaking Savoyard lawyer, diplomat, writer, and philosopher. ... The word tradition, comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ... The Pope (from Greek: pappas, father; from Latin: papa, Papa, father) is the head of the Catholic Church, which considers him the successor of St. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Science For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ...

The Christological argument in Protestantism

Likewise, a tradition of argument found among some Protestant fundamentalists as well as Catholics argues that respect for Jesus as a teacher and a wise man is logically contradictory if one does not accept him as God as well, also known as the Lord, Liar, or Lunatic argument: either He was insane or a charlatan, or he was in fact the Messiah and Son of God. Cf., Christological argument. Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing the splitting away from the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late Renaissance in Europe—a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ... Fundamentalist Christianity is a fundamentalist movement, especially within American Protestantism. ... Look up Charlatan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary This page describes the term charlatan. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew Arabic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by a prophet of God. ... The Christological argument for the existence of God is a relatively modern argument. ...

The obvious problem with this argument is that it presents a false trichotomy. Jesus may well have important things to teach and have wisdom to give even if he is wrong, ironic, or misquoted about his own relation to God. One need not be right about everything to be right about something. In this line of thinking, the teaching can be true regardless of the teacher's conduct himself. However, proponents of this argument deny that it is a false trichotomy by appealing to personhood, claiming that Christ as a person could not have died for teachings he knew to be false. Furthermore, he would not have made ridiculous claims of his own divinity alongside otherwise sound teachings. He would not have died for all these things if he had not himself truly believed them, as the argument goes. But if he was so sincerely self-deceived on such a grand level, then he would be among the worst teachers, hardly worthy of the label. The logical fallacy of false dilemma (in some sources falsified dilemma), which is also known as fallacy of the excluded middle, false dichotomy, either/or dilemma or bifurcation, involves a situation in which two alternative points of view are held to be the only options, when in reality there exist...

This argument does not purport to demonstrate the divinity of Christ, but rather, to dismantle the argument that he was merely a good teacher, by appealing to accounts of Him in the Bible.

Fideism in Islam

While the centrality of issues of faith and its role in salvation make fideism of this sort an important issue for Christianity, it can exist in other revealed religions as well. In Islam, the theologian Ghazali strikes a position similar to Tertullian's fideism in his Talafut al-falasafa, the "Incoherence of the Philosophers." Where the claims of reason come into conflict with revelation, reason must yield to revelation. This position drew a rejoinder from Averroes, whose position was more influential in Thomist and other medieval Christian thinking than it was in the Islamic world itself. Ghazali's position of the absolute authority and finality of divine revelation became the standard of orthodox Muslim exegesis. For information on the last book of the New Testament see the Book of Revelation. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (born 1058 in Tus, Khorasan province of Persia, modern day Iran, died 1111, Tus) was a Persian Muslim theologian and philosopher, known as Algazel to the western medieval world. ... Averroes Averroes (Ibn Rushd) (1126 – December 10, 1198) was an Andalusian-Arab philosopher and physician, a master of philosophy and Islamic law, mathematics, and medicine. ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم is an adherent of Islam. ... This article discusses textual hermeneutics. ...

The existence of other religions puts a more fundamental question to fideists -- even if faith is the only way to know the truth of God, how are we to know which God to have faith in?

External link

• Fideism, entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy