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It is natural to think that faith goes beyond the evidence. At the same time, many don’t want to say that faith is irrational – faith, both religious and non-religious, seems like an important part of a flourishing life. Here, I explore one way to make sense of this apparent tension. Before thinking about faith, let’s think about two other attitudes: belief and confidence. Believing something amounts to a commitment that the world is a particular way. When you believe somethi

Larry Shapiro’s recent piece “Why I Can’t Believe in the Resurrection” affords a welcome opportunity to review David Hume’s famous objection to belief in reported miracles. Shapiro’s reconstruction of that objection is simple and relatively straightforward, and in consequence it shares in both the virtues and the defects of Hume’s original argument. We are dealing here with probabilities and explanatory reasoning, so it is just as well for us to get clear on a few relatively

Based on Exodus 3:1-15 “Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life...Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: ‘You are accepted.’” ~Paul Tillich The sand was dusty and hot as he watched his sheep hustle from mouthful to mouthful. The breeze died for a moment and he could hear the click and whir of insects risin

Some people, like the New Atheists, are skeptical of the attitude of faith. They argue that faith, especially religious faith, is irrational. One way to see their argument is as follows: Those who have faith are irrational. Theistic believers have faith. Therefore, theistic believers are irrational. The issue with this argument is that it is unclear what faith is such that both (1) and (2) come out to be true. Let’s consider some possibilities. One might think faith just is