Interacting with the divine is outside of the realm of normal human experience. The supernatural is, by definition, outside the limits of what can be quantified, measured, examined scientifically, or understood from coldly academic foundations. That does not make it any less real or vital to the human experience. Augustine points out “Thou awakest us to delight in Thy praise; for Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee.”[1] The great theologian echoes the apostle Paul, who said “for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. . .for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” (Rom. 1:16-17).[2] This paper will examine the relationship between faith and reason in the life of the follower of Jesus Christ and how they relate to the ancient tension between the confluence of the Hebraic and Greco-Roman ways of looking at the world, examining why the two ideas are not contradictory or in tension, but showing that they are two aspects of the same comprehensive worldview.
[1] Augustine, Confessions, 1.1. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Accessed August 9, 2019. https://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confess.ii.i.html#ii.i–p0.2
[2] Unless otherwise noted, all scriptural passages referenced are from the New King James Version.