Is Christianity with reason wrong?

Historically there have been two schools of thought about human reason. One says that Adam was gifted with wisdom and understanding to be able to deduce the truth, but at the Fall these powers were lost to him. In such a case human reason cannot be relied upon. The other says that reason is a natural gift, and that Man therefore has all the reasoning necessary to make correct deductions about God.

Firstly, embrace whatever feels right to you, if a logical approach feels right, then most likely, it is right. Don't feel torn because others are telling you how to pursue answers. Regarding your question: There is a reason why it is called faith, since faith is how one becomes close to god -not logic. Using logic will only bring you farther away from god. God isn't logical, the concept is irrational and perplexing. Being logical is an extremely good quality, don't deny your gift, logical people are rational people.

Is it wrong to try to reach God with reason instead of faith?

Einstein is said to have commented that he believed in the God of Spinoza that made himself manifest in the harmony of nature.

Deism is about as far as "reason" can take you.

Jesus tells us that we need to be drawn by the Father.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

In Greek there is a relationship between "peithō" (to be persuaded) and "pistis" (faith or trust).

There is that which we hear, reason, or are persuaded is true which leads us to trust in it.

The Father may in some way configure us to have a desire to seek truth that leads us to Jesus who is truth.

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

God did not provide us with a means of salvation that only the clever could solve or reason out. He calls us with truth and those that are "of the truth" will respond, see that which they are persuaded is true, and trust in it. It is at the point of trusting (faith) that we get new life in Jesus (born again).

Reason can play an important role for someone. However, reason cannot save by itself. Reason cannot by itself bring you to God. It is faith that opens the door and it is the result of being convinced of truth.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Reasoning can be a pathway to faith, but is not a requirement. If reasoning involves logical arguments, AND if you start with the appropriate premises, you can arrive at faith. If you do not accept the right premises, reasoning can drive you away from faith. Of course, many faithful come to faith without relying on reason at all. Abraham, for instance, comes to faith in God through the use of reason.

Because religions, including Christianity, are full of seemingly illogical mysteries, staying faithful requires some level of suspension of the laws of nature and acceptance of the laws of God. We just do not have reasonable answers to a vast array of things. Science theorizes some answers, religious faith provides others, and many questions remain.

Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

The Christian God is a God of order, and He is the author and sustainer of all of creation, which, I believe, explains the transcendental requisites for a universe that supports reason. He also created man in His image, which, I believe, accounts for man's rational ability and desires. God is a God of reason.

That being said, not all things are going to be reasonable to us, or even evident enough to enter into the realm of "reasonableness," so I'm not sure that it's quite fair to pit faith against reason (my first paragraph was sort of intented to illustrate this: my reason for holding to a high esteem of "reason" is based on my faith). God requires his people to trust Him in faith, but He also presents them with a well-structured creation, a mind built for rationality, and an offer to "reason together."

Personally, I don't like that Christians have gotten a reputation (though, much of it is probably fairly earned from a real tendency) for shying away from purusuits of reason in the name of faith.

Historically, there have been four sources of Theology:

• Scripture
• Tradition
• Reason
• Experience

Each of these is a tool that we can use to answer questions about God, and each has its pros and cons. The best theology draws from all of these sources.

A good resource for understanding the pros and cons of reason as a source of theology is the "Theology Unplugged" podcast.

As a quick summary, the biggest problem with reason (by itself) is that the assumptions on which it is based often change over time. To take it out of the theolgical realm, we "know" that the earth revolves around the sun, but less than 800 years ago, we also "knew" that the sun revolved around the earth.

Because we have limited knowledge, sometimes we must accept God's revelation in order to have reasonable assumptioms from which to make deductions.

Note: This doesn't say we shouldn't use the reason and minds God gave us! Just understand that reason by itself is not a silver bullet.

Reasoning can take you a long way. Just look at this community. Being a part of the StackExchange network, a good percentage of the members (including myself) come from a highly technical, scientific background, and would likely revolt at the thought of rationality being incompatible with Christian faith.

The problem is that reasoning is only a process. It's a tool, and like any useful tool, it's susceptible to the golden hammer fallacy, particularly when one fails to realize that the reasoning process does not (and provably can not) provide any foundation to start reasoning from.

Reasoning is the process of taking information and drawing useful conclusions from it through the application of rational rules. As such, it can only ever be as good as the information you start with. For an illustrative demonstration of the significance of this fact, take a look at late medieval science sometime. Stuff like phlogiston theory (an explanation of how fire works in the absence of atomic theory and an understanding of oxygen) or retrograde motion (an explanation for peculiarities observed in the orbits of our neighbors in the solar system, based on a geocentric model instead of a heliocentric one.)

The people who studied this stuff did a lot of very interesting experiments, which were valid according to the scientific method, to try to figure out how things really work. But because they began with incorrect assumptions, they reached bad conclusions. Reasoning was useless in these cases; what was needed was better data. (And indeed, when better data became available, scientists were able to reason out more accurate theories pretty quickly, and the old ones became obsolete.)

This is where faith comes in. God has given us everything we need to have a reason to believe that he exists, but he stops short of providing absolute and universal proof because that would interfere with the development of our faith, and salvation comes only through faith. (The reason why it's only through faith that we can be saved is a matter for another question, and not everyone agrees on the details, but the fact that it's necessary is nearly universally accepted as Christian doctrine AFAIK.) So your parents and friends are right, to a point. You can't find God through reason alone. But when you have achieved a foundation of faith, it's certainly possible to use reason to strengthen your faith, or to figure out how to deal with problems in our lives when no obvious, explicit solution is given in the scriptures.

God has revealed his existence, his plan for us, and the rules that we need to live by in order to find happiness in this life and salvation after this life, through his prophets and apostles. This information has been recorded in the scriptures, to preserve it for later generations, like us. If we can exercise our faith enough to accept this, it gives us a solid foundation to start reasoning from when it comes to many important aspects of our lives. For example, we're told that Paul made a habit of using the scriptures which the Jews had already accepted to reason with them and help them find faith in Christ, (Acts 17: 1-3, see also Acts 18,) and that the resurrected Lord did the same with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24: 13-25)

So no, there's nothing wrong with using reason to increase your faith. But it cannot establish your faith, and it should not be the only thing you allow to guide you. There are times when we reach the limits of what we know, and reason becomes useless. In those cases, it's necessary to simply let God's word serve as a lamp unto our feet, lighting our path one step at a time, and walk by faith, not by sight. Having both principles available to you will make you stronger than having to rely on only one or the other, particularly if you can learn when the appropriate time to apply each of them is.