Faith and reason often go hand in hand simply because of the fact that one could argue that one does not exist without the other. The major arguments for them going hand in hand is that someone can be faithful or unfaithful to a voice of reason or have reason to be faithful or unfaithful. One could also argue that faith and reason could be divided into two separate categories, or that they’re considered to be two separate things. In this case Elizabeth A. Johnson and Charles Darwin would exemplify reason because of the way they prioritize science over God, while John Henry Newman argues that religion gives people a “sense of security” and that having faith in God makes you knowledgeable which makes you smarter. Although they have conflicting
…show more content…
Johnson’s “Ask the Beasts” is an important work in relation to this claim because it presents the question of what it means to be human. In it, Johnson talks about how humans are essentially destroying the Earth, and she presents points that suggest that we already do things without God, and, if we needed to, we would be able to evolve again if the opportunity presented itself in a catastrophic incident. Johnson writes about humans as, “A highly ethical animal, they can consider principles of right and wrong, weigh out what they do, and chose one path over another in the face of temptation” (Johnson 240). The question that we associated with this quote in class was that if we as humans can do things that add meaning and purpose to our lives, is it evolution or is it God? We had many mixed responses throughout the class, with some people arguing from an evolutionist point of view, saying that we evolved for a reason, and if we need to, we can evolve again. Other people argued from a religious point of view, and said that God put us on the Earth for a reason, and that He has the ability to either help us survive or completely wipe out the entire planet. Johnson also writes on the topic of population growth, saying, “predictions vary to …show more content…
In it, Newman talks about education and how human beings can’t be defined to what he calls, “one-dimensional thinking”, (Reader, pg. 41). He says that education is important because education gives us knowledge, and that knowledge leads to being able to distinguish right from wrong, in a religious connotation. Newman is basically saying that people who put their faith in God are better educated and therefore have better minds and better morals. This relates to our class discussions now as opposed to when we first discussed this because we talked about the difference between having faith and believing in reason in the sense that people who faith seem to have better morals. During our previous class discussions on this particular reading, we discussed the meaning behind this and whether this statement is accurate or not. The overall consensus was that, no, just because someone is educated, it doesn’t mean that they are smarter or have better morals than someone who is not educated to the extent the other person is. Newman praises those who question things, saying innovative minds are the smartest people (Reader, 45). This is important to the claim because according to Newman, people who are knowledgeable will be able to make religious and moral decisions (Reader,
Johnson’s “Ask the Beasts” is an important work in relation to this claim because it presents the question of what it means to be human. In it, Johnson talks about how humans are essentially destroying the Earth, and she presents points that suggest that we already do things without God, and, if we needed to, we would be able to evolve again if the opportunity presented itself in a catastrophic incident. Johnson writes about humans as, “A highly ethical animal, they can consider principles of right and wrong, weigh out what they do, and chose one path over another in the face of temptation” (Johnson 240). The question that we associated with this quote in class was that if we as humans can do things that add meaning and purpose to our lives, is it evolution or is it God? We had many mixed responses throughout the class, with some people arguing from an evolutionist point of view, saying that we evolved for a reason, and if we need to, we can evolve again. Other people argued from a religious point of view, and said that God put us on the Earth for a reason, and that He has the ability to either help us survive or completely wipe out the entire planet. Johnson also writes on the topic of population growth, saying, “predictions vary to …show more content…
In it, Newman talks about education and how human beings can’t be defined to what he calls, “one-dimensional thinking”, (Reader, pg. 41). He says that education is important because education gives us knowledge, and that knowledge leads to being able to distinguish right from wrong, in a religious connotation. Newman is basically saying that people who put their faith in God are better educated and therefore have better minds and better morals. This relates to our class discussions now as opposed to when we first discussed this because we talked about the difference between having faith and believing in reason in the sense that people who faith seem to have better morals. During our previous class discussions on this particular reading, we discussed the meaning behind this and whether this statement is accurate or not. The overall consensus was that, no, just because someone is educated, it doesn’t mean that they are smarter or have better morals than someone who is not educated to the extent the other person is. Newman praises those who question things, saying innovative minds are the smartest people (Reader, 45). This is important to the claim because according to Newman, people who are knowledgeable will be able to make religious and moral decisions (Reader,