On Reasonable Madness For God

But just how far can this reason (the “motives of credibility” mentioned above) carry us?  How much trust can we put in our logic?  We can logically say that there is a God.  We can logically say that God speaks to us through the Catholic Church.  In this line of thought, reason seems like a good guide—one we can follow almost anywhere.

But at the same time, we can logically say that once we die, our existence will go out like a light, never to shine again.  We have can logically say that the Buddhists are more right in their thinking than Christians are.  We have reasons (no matter how small they are) to believe in some of the most outrageous doctrines ever.

You disagree?

Have you ever argued a point with someone, knowing you’re right, but never being able to convince that person because your opponent offers evidence that can’t be proved or disproved?  The person has real reasons to believe his or her conviction.  And just because the evidence is not provable, that doesn’t make it any less reasonable as a premise.

So reason, while it might help a man find God, cannot become a foundation for his religion.  No, something much deeper must follow it.  And that something is faith.

As mentioned before, faith is a gift from God.  And while faith will not directly contradict reason, it will not be subject to reason either.  What’s more, without the faith, we cannot become closer to God.  Our life as a Christian cannot be tied to logical conclusions.  We must surpass the logic and come to a more supernatural understanding.

The first Vatican Council condemned the idea that reason alone can lead man to God:

"If anyone says that the assent of Christian faith is not free, but that it necessarily follows from the arguments which human reason can furnish in its favour; or if anyone says that God's grace is only necessary for that living faith which worketh through charity, let him be anathema"

But we don’t need a council to point this out.  All we have to do is look to a few extremes.  And the most extreme, in this case, would be the saints—who weren’t at all bound by reason.

Reason, after all, would not have guided Saint Joan of Arc on a military campaign.  Reason would not have caused Saint Francis of Assisi to start his crusade against wealth.  And reason is not what compelled Mother Theresa to serve the poorest of the poor.  The heroic acts of the saints have always had a touch of madness to them—one which is in dark contrast to the reasonable behavior we would expect from a Christian.  It would seem that madness is as much a virtue in the Christian life as chastity or charity.  But what this ‘madness’ really is, is a bold act of faith—guided by God and not by reason.

If we were to make a small timeline for the lives of many of the saints, it might look a little like this:

Reason – Faith – Madness – Sainthood

None of the things in this timeline are opposed to each other.  On the contrary, they compliment each other in the most practical way—they compliment each other, because they all point in the same direction.  They all point to God, who is the author of reason, faith, madness, and sainthood.