Yes, western Christianity is almost predicated on the reasoning of the Enlightenment. This is why the creation/evolution debate is so confused in the USA. Most creationists think that they believe in creationism for rational reasons, not because it is a leap of faith. If they understood faith correctly, they would have no problem with the scientific evidence, they would simply not trust the science. As it is, a great many Americans have no idea when their beliefs are based on science vs. when they are based on faith, and how these two differ.
I've talked to many religious people on this subject, and they will try to claim that everyone lives by faith. They will offer up as examples such things as: 1) When you sit in a chair, you have faith that it will not collapse, or 2) When you get in your car, you have faith that you will arrive safely at your destination. Even a lot of Scientist who should no better will claim that they have "faith" in scientific theories, and that this is essential for functional lives. IMO, a total misunderstanding of faith.
The problem with those examples are that the weight of evidence is in favor of those outcomes, hence it is not faith at all, but rational (statistical at any rate) expectation. If instead, chairs collapsed 99.99% of the time one sat in them, then indeed, it is faith to sit down on the next chair and expect it to hold.
On the other hand, since western Christianity generally thinks that religion is rational, this has allowed modern scientific culture to flourish, while eastern cultures have been somewhat more hobbled by their views (IMO). Kind of a paradox! |
