Reason Psalm 119:27 (NASB) Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders.
Romans 15:21 (ESV) but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
Hebrews 11:3 (ESV) By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Reason
Your Reason is influenced by your worldview!
(Mat 22:37-39)
Mind ,Wisdom ,Worldview ,Death ,Summary
The Mind is used to Reason
to evaluate our observations to give us understanding. Reasoning is to think. If we are not taught how to reason or are emotionally unstable or base our thoughts on an unreasonable foundation our reasoning is distorted to our detriment or even our eternal destruction. It would take an eternity for engineers to assemble an object remotely resembling the brain . Even if we could create an artificial brain, that doesn't mean we would have a mind capable of human self-awareness and thought. The mind may give us understanding, but we don't fully understand the mind . True artificial intelligence may always remain illusive contrary to popular claims. Philosophically, reason is absolute and knowledge can only be formed by the use of reason without being influenced by emotion, faith, or intuition . In this sense, belief is the absolute acceptance that an idea is true. This concept of pure reason is too abstract to be real. Reason uses the mind and the mind has many controls. No mind exists that is not influenced by memories, personal relationships, or faith in something. Often these influences are below the conscious mind when we decide to believe something through reason. No matter how well trained our mind is, it is never the perfect sterile computer we pretend it to be.
is more than the accumulation of experience to filter our reasoning. Wisdom is inherited from the beginning of reason. It also comes from inspired insight (Job 38:36 (NASB)). Wisdom precedes reason even before creation (Pr 8:22-23). Tell Newton or Einstein wisdom is not found by inspiration from the creation. The theories of the great thinkers comes before the reasoned proof. What is the source of the wisdom that causes inspiration? The atheist claims to believe free from the illusion of faith. But belief without faith is self deception. No worldview can exist without faith in some kind of first cause that cannot be fully known. Our ability for sound reasoning depends on our wisdom which depends on our worldview. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2 ESV).
is determined by what we believe. What we have faith in determines what we believe. For most of us, our faith is strongly influenced by our conformity to a group. The group can be worldly or religious. Being conformed to a faith because of the view of others, whether worldly or religious clouds reason and prevents understanding (Rom 12:2). Faith is determined by our understanding of first cause. The Big Bang, the multi-verse, the force, pantheism, aliens from beyond, the Creator God are all attempts at explaining the first cause and require faith in something we cannot prove. Our worldview depends on how we think about our origins.
is the ultimate experience that determines our world-view. "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (Eccl 3:11 ESV). Our view of origins informs our belief of how we came to be and what happens to us when we die. Our view of death determines how we value life. How we value life determines how we relate to one-another and our environment. These relationships are the foundation of our faith and morality. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Gen 1:28 NASB)
Summary
The mind controlled by the flesh is Man's reasoning. Man's reasoning determines his wisdom. Man's wisdom determines his worldview. Man's worldview determines his concept of life and death. Man's concept of life and death (oblivion) determines his faith (if any). In contrast, the mind controlled by the Spirit has faith. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11:1 NASB) "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?" (Rom 8:24 NASB) Thus, this man believes in eternal life and is dead to the flesh. The mind with this worldview receives wisdom from thinking the Creators thoughts after Him. This wisdom controls his reasoning.
rea•son (ˈri zən) v.i. 1. to think or argue in a logical manner. 2. to form conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises. v.t. 3. to think through logically, as a problem (often fol. by out). 4. to conclude or infer.
Rowlands,
Joseph, et al.
ReasonImportance Of Philosophy
Jeff Landauer
Nov 01, 0200.
Mar 20, 2015
http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Epistemology_Reason.html
⇑