Reason and Revelation

Some Christian believers might suggest that human reason is always foolish. Unconverted philosophers teach that Divine revelation is useless even non-existent. But truly as created humans, we are given the responsibility by our Creator to exercise human reason undergirded with Divine Revelation. That is to say, we must use our God-given logical processes supported and defined by Sola Scriptura. True wisdom is logic (thinking) informed by Biblical Theology.  Reason (human thought) is necessary to live in a reasonable, human environment, but since the human mind (reason) is not infinite, but finitely enclosed in human intellects and varying in ability among many different minds, reason cannot be trusted alone for the formation and development of a free and healthy society. Human reason is not to be despised by Theists, nor is to be deified by humanists. The necessity of reason and the reality that reason is gifted by an infinite Creator means it is not evil, but good in its original state, and therefore should not be vilified by Bible believers. Yet the fact that reason is indeed granted by an Almighty Divine being shows that reason is not independent or infinite, but rather must be informed by something that is both infinite and truly independent; and therefore must not be worshiped.  Even the unbelieving founders of the USA understood this. They commonly consented that America would only sustain her freedom if she was regulated and restrained by a moral conscience informed by the Bible (revelation). Humanists like Jefferson and Franklin attest to the reality that something greater than reason must support and undergird true freedom. Divine Revelation, since it is both independent of human reason and infinite in wisdom, coming from an infinite Being, is necessary to inform and define human reason. And so in reality, a society is only sustainable as a free society so long as she adheres to the Revelation which is undergirding her reason. Christians, and notably, the church is the pillar and foundation of such Divine revelation, so they are in essence the restraining force that holds a free society together (via the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who illuminates Divine revelation within them). Therefore an uninformed Christian who refuses to engage in ardent and systematic Theological study by means of the Bible is more dangerous to the wellness and sustainability of a society than a thousand humanists who pay no lip service to Revelation.