Which Came First, Faith or Reason?

It takes no faith to insist that the Ten Commandments be carved

over the courthouse door, nor does it take reason to insist that it
be removed. Faith should care less about public prayers and slogans;
reason should care less about the slogans of the faithful.

"Reason"
seems to be a common thread in many reactions to the so-called
faithful. Those on the far Right are inclined to invoke faith as
proprietary to their own beliefs; those on the far Left invoke
"reason" as proprietary to their political agendas. This
makes no sense. It is one thing to be a non-believer; it is quite
another to rationalize non-belief on the grounds of human reason.

Some
say that the far Right and the far Left are the same people —
control through Bibliolatry (worship of the Bible) and through
government, but nevertheless control.

Historically, the track record of human reason is abysmal. In
fact, human reason has consistently undermined the faith of believers
by encouraging the thinking that anyone who refuses to believe is
unreasonable. Reason is the fly-in-the-ointment that leads to bad
religion.

Assuming there is no middle ground between faith and reason, is it
more rational to believe in reason than in the supernatural? More to
the point, if one fails to believe in the supernatural, is it
necessary to believe in anything, let alone human reason? The notion
that one must have faith in something is irrational if you
reject faith as unreasonable.

Condemning the faithful on the grounds of reason is an exercise in
futility. The one thing on which believers are in agreement is that
faith is the antidote to reason. One believes because reason has
failed to bring hope or comfort. Faith is by its nature irrational
and unreasonable. That is why it is called faith.

The Christian Right, predominately Republican, has a lot to say
about taking God out of public life. The problem is, however, that
the carving of the Ten Commandments over the courthouse portico or
prayer in public schools has nothing to do with any god in which you
would want to place your faith. It even fails the test of reason
that anyone would believe because of a carving. Believe in what?
The Ten Commandments or the courthouse?

McChurch, the drive-through, fast-food temple of the Christian
Right, has lost its bearings. The trappings of faith, rather than
its living, breathing reality, is biblically condemned as a form of
religion without the spirit thereof.

Because one is a believer does not mean that one has to
take leave of one's reason. The notion that Christian phrases
underscore a nation as Christian not only defies the nature of faith
but destroys faith as the basis for belief.

It takes no faith to insist that the Ten Commandments be carved
over the courthouse door, nor does it take reason to insist that it
be removed. Faith should care less about public prayers and slogans;
reason should care less about the slogans of the faithful.

As for the destiny of unbelievers, how could anyone who has
reasoned God out of existence care less about a Hell that, in his
reason, does not exist? Unless, of course, human reason becomes
something of a faith, in which case destiny on such thin ice is a far
worse bet than belief in a supreme being.

Stan Moody, Christian Policy Institute, author of "McChurched:
300 Million Served and Still Hungry."