I am often confronted by Christians who say that just as they have faith in the bible I have faith in reason. I reply that I do not have faith in reason but rather that I have have trust in reason just I have trust in my eyes because my reason like my eyes is primary and provides me evidence to validate this trust. But what of emotion? Is not emotion just as primary to all human beings as reason, if not more so? If I would trust my reason in exploring the dimensions of reality why should I not also trust my emotion? Emotions are subjective many would reply, emotions lie to us, they make mistakes and change with time. And reason does not? How many false ideas were once upheld as truth by those employing their best reason? One might respond 'The ideas were wrong but reason was yet strengthened because it was reason which revealed them to be wrong.' And emotion cannot do the same? How many impulses and passions, particularly the negative ones, are overridden by emotion, particularly forgiving love. Just as reason can be developed so too can emotion. What is the reason of a cave man to Stephen Hawking? Probably the same as the emotion of a cave man to Mother Theresa.
So if we are to explore the dimensions of reality we should employ both our reason and our emotion and not exclude one for the sake of the other just as we would not forsake our eyes for the sake of our ears even though they perceive different dimensions of the same reality. Now given this isn't it likely that religious texts such as the bible often sound absurd because their primary message is emotional truth and we are looking at it too much with reason instead of our hearts? Isn't it very possible that there is emotional evidence to point to the existence of God?
So if we are to explore the dimensions of reality we should employ both our reason and our emotion and not exclude one for the sake of the other just as we would not forsake our eyes for the sake of our ears even though they perceive different dimensions of the same reality. Now given this isn't it likely that religious texts such as the bible often sound absurd because their primary message is emotional truth and we are looking at it too much with reason instead of our hearts? Isn't it very possible that there is emotional evidence to point to the existence of God?
