Reason, Unfettered by Faith

A Critique

By

R. Alan Woods San Diego: Rhema Rising Press Copyright 2007

Mr. Krauss, a professor of physics and astronomy at Case Western Reserve Uni versity, and a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, in his most recent b ook- Hiding In The Mirror- states the following: I remain convinced that reason mus t be unfettered by faith if we are to truly educate our children and our student s, and if we as a society are to overcome violence committed in the name of reli gion as his thesis in the article Reason, unfettered by faith. Krauss wrote this article in response to a statement made by the Pope that e mphasized a direct and necessary correlation between faith and reason. His inten ded audience(s) in this article are college students and their educators- Mr. Kr auss peers. The topic was of intense interest because of the violent assault upo n Western cultures democratic ideals and Christian beliefs by Islamic radicals. M r. Krauss is convinced this assault to be based upon an unreasonable interpretat ion of specific writings in the Koran which have created and promoted a vicious, violent, radical form of Islam. Krauss implies implicitly that religious faith is antithetical to reason because it is based upon a belief in something that ca nnot be verified by utilizing the scientific method of empiricalization. He impl ies that ignorance and faith are synonymous. He draws a false conclusion. He fai ls to define what he means when he uses the terms reason and faith. He also impl ies that all religion is based upon superstition and ignorance in addition to be ing inherently violent and evil. In other words, people of the Islamic faith- or any faith-based religious belief for that matter- are not utilizing logic and a re not operating from a position of reason. Krauss implies that religious faith is anachronistic and that it hinders the education of our children and deludes t hem through the unreasonableness of faith as to what is real and true. Mr. Kraus is fundamentally intellectually dishonest as a scholar. Krausss argument is appalling in that he is the living proof of his own illogi cal thesis. He has failed to recognize that faith and reason are inseparable. Mr. Krauss has The Faith confused with faithing (the Greek word for faithing is pistis: a three dimensional action verb) which requires an action(s) that is based upon a reasonable supposition of belief that a predetermined result will eventually occur from that action which will in turn provide the reasonable basis upon whic h that action(s) was originally predicated. I have said on many an occasion, A Ch ristian is not nor has he/she ever been required to throw his/her brain out the window when he/she comes to salvation through Christ (Woods, 1992). On the contra ry, Christians are required to be the most reasonable, stable-minded, and sane p ersons on this good Earth.