Philosophy, the hard sciences, and Christianity would all be unimaginably different, had it not been for The Enlightenment. Around the 18th century, The Enlightenment was well underway, as well as new ideas and concepts that came along with it. However, with new theories and understandings, came criticism of the ones already widely accepted. Amidst the search for reason within religion, Enlightenment thinkers sought out a better understanding of their faith and strongly encouraged others to do so as well. This caused some individuals to dismiss their faith altogether, believing that reason and faith could not seamlessly work together. Yet despite these individual’s beliefs, Christianity has overcome this. Furthermore, Christianity has
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The Enlightenment was beneficial to the faith because of the way it helped shed light on the symbiotic relationship between faith and reason, along with the way it has helped Christians to better understand their faith without sacrificing …show more content…
Though Aquinas came many years before The Enlightenment, the concept of reason and faith working together was largely explored during that time period. The thought of faith and reason working together was seen as somewhat of an oxymoron. However, it was soon realized that the two need to be placed together in order to create a balance. There are certain dangers to having one without the other. Having reason with little to no faith could bring about the concept of Nihilism. Nihilism is the belief that there is no God, which therefore makes one’s self “god”. Although one may not think, “Oh hey, I’m god,” Nihilism is essentially the belief that there is no higher power that is actively present in one’s life. As a result of this, the individual believes that they do not have to answer to anyone, making them seem as though they were “god”. Likewise, there are similar dangers that go along with having faith without reason. This could end up with people sacrificing their common sense. In Weston, WI, an 11-year-old girl died from a diabetic related illness. Her illness was very treatable; she could have been just fine had her parents opted to get her medical attention. Yet they decided to pray and hope for divine intervention instead of taking action. This is a more drastic example of what can happen when faith and reason are not balanced
The Enlightenment was beneficial to the faith because of the way it helped shed light on the symbiotic relationship between faith and reason, along with the way it has helped Christians to better understand their faith without sacrificing …show more content…
Though Aquinas came many years before The Enlightenment, the concept of reason and faith working together was largely explored during that time period. The thought of faith and reason working together was seen as somewhat of an oxymoron. However, it was soon realized that the two need to be placed together in order to create a balance. There are certain dangers to having one without the other. Having reason with little to no faith could bring about the concept of Nihilism. Nihilism is the belief that there is no God, which therefore makes one’s self “god”. Although one may not think, “Oh hey, I’m god,” Nihilism is essentially the belief that there is no higher power that is actively present in one’s life. As a result of this, the individual believes that they do not have to answer to anyone, making them seem as though they were “god”. Likewise, there are similar dangers that go along with having faith without reason. This could end up with people sacrificing their common sense. In Weston, WI, an 11-year-old girl died from a diabetic related illness. Her illness was very treatable; she could have been just fine had her parents opted to get her medical attention. Yet they decided to pray and hope for divine intervention instead of taking action. This is a more drastic example of what can happen when faith and reason are not balanced