Faith and Reason: Friends, Not Enemies

Have you ever felt like faith and reason are in a tug-of-war? Some people think you have to pick one: either you rely on science and logic, or you believe in God and trust your faith. Thomas Aquinas, one of history’s greatest thinkers, saw things differently. He believed that faith and reason are like two wings of a bird—you need both to soar toward truth.

Let’s explore Aquinas’s ideas using simple language, relatable examples, and a few analogies to make his wisdom easy to understand.

The Big Idea: Faith Complements Reason

Imagine you’re solving a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces you can see and fit together are like reason—what you can figure out with your mind. But some parts of the puzzle, like the missing pieces in the box, need someone to hand them to you. Those are like faith—truths revealed by God that go beyond what your mind can discover on its own.

For Aquinas, reason is powerful. It helps us understand the world, ask questions, and solve problems. But he also recognized that reason has limits. There are some truths, like the mystery of God’s love or the purpose of life, that reason alone can’t fully explain. That’s where faith comes in.

An Analogy: The Lamp and the Sun

Think of reason as a lamp. It’s bright and useful, helping you see things clearly in the dark. But faith is like the sun. It shines so brightly that it reveals things the lamp could never illuminate. Aquinas believed that faith doesn’t replace reason—it builds on it and gives us a fuller picture of reality.

Faith and Science: Not Opposites

Aquinas’s view helps us see why faith and science aren’t enemies. Science asks “how” questions: How does gravity work? How do plants grow? Faith asks “why” questions: Why is there a universe at all? Why do we long for love and meaning?

For example:

• Science might explain how your heart pumps blood, but faith helps you ask why you have a heart in the first place.
• Science shows us how the Earth orbits the sun, but faith points to the Creator who set it in motion.

A Real-World Example: Trusting a Friend

Imagine you’re hiking with a friend. You can see the trail and figure out where it leads—that’s reason. But when your friend says, “Trust me, there’s an amazing view ahead,” you have to take their word for it. That’s faith. Reason helps you start the journey, but faith leads you to something greater.

Aquinas’s Balance

Aquinas taught that faith and reason work together because they come from the same source: God. God gave us minds to think and question, and He also gave us hearts to believe and trust. Aquinas even said that using reason to understand faith can make our belief stronger, not weaker. When we ask questions and seek answers, we grow closer to the truth.

Conclusion

Faith and reason aren’t in competition; they’re partners. Reason helps us understand the world and ask big questions, while faith reveals truths that go beyond what our minds can discover. Together, they lead us to a deeper understanding of God, the universe, and ourselves.

So, the next time you hear someone say you have to choose between faith and reason, remember Aquinas’s wisdom: they’re two wings of the same bird. With both, we can soar toward the truth.

References

• Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Benziger Bros., 1947. Available online at: New Advent.
• Feser, Edward. Five Proofs of the Existence of God. Ignatius Press, 2017.
• Craig, William Lane. Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. Crossway, 2008.
• Kreeft, Peter. A Shorter Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica. Ignatius Press, 2001.