FIDES ET RATIO

INTRODUCTION

Fides et ratio is an encyclical of St. Pope John Paul II which elaborates on the role of faith and reason on the contemplation of the truth. The strife and journey to know the truth of humanity has unfolded within the horizon of personal self-consciousness. If we are able to discover the truth, we will realize the uniqueness of our being. However, there are fundamental questions one needs to contemplate: who am i? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after life? We have resources on our disposal for generating greater knowledge of truth. The church is no stranger to this journey of truth, because through the paschal mystery, we receive the gift of ultimate truth. But on her part, the church sets great value upon the drive of reason to attain goals which render people’s lives ever more worthy. This is because as the competence bearer of the revelation of Jesus Christ, the church reaffirms the need to reflect on the truth.

John Paul wrote this encyclical to pursue the reflection on the catholic truths which are being distorted and denied. He wanted to make a valid reference point and foundation for the young ones, to whom the future belongs. We need both faith and reason in order to properly advance in knowledge. Both go hand-in-hand, they are the two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth. In this encyclical, John Paul relate the basic faith and reason, philosophy and theology, science and religion and self-knowledge as being very important to man’s quest for the truth.

CHAPTER ONE: JESUS, REVEALER OF THE FATHER

This chapter tried to show that the church is the bearer of God’s message, which is not just a mere speculation, and she offers it to man knowing that it is not mere speculation but that it is a word of God received in faith. Here we are reminded that the mystery hidden for ages past is now revealed through the unique encounter at the origin of our life. This revelation plan of God is realized by deeds and words having inner unity; the deeds of God manifest and confirm the realities signified by the word. God’s revelation is immersed in time and history because Christ took fresh in the fullness of time; time therefore is of a fundamental importance to us Christians. The deepest truth about God and Humanity was made clear to us in the person of Christ.

However, in as much as Jesus came to reveal the father, our understanding is limited, therefore our vision of God is always fragmentary, it is charged with mystery and, faith alone can penetrate the mystery in a way that it can be coherently understood. The truth of this revelation enables us to welcome the mystery of our own life as we strive to make our way amidst pressures; the revelation serves us as a lodestar. The truth of the revelation is not a product or consummation of human reason, it is gratuitous.

CHAPTER TWO: WISDOM KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS ALL

The knowledge conferred by faith and reason is remarkably indicated by the sacred scriptures. Here, this chapter tries relating scriptural passages to the reciprocal relationship between faith and reason; it emphasizes, with references to particular scriptural passages, the importance of reason and wisdom. The wise man is described by the sacred authors as one who loves and seeks the truth. The desire to know is characteristic of all people. However, there is an opposition between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God revealed in Christ. Faith and reason cannot be separated, each contains the other and each has its own scope of action. Reason however is valued without being overvalued, reasoning may be true but can acquire through meaning when it is set within the larger horizon of faith. The gospel of Jesus is the reef beyond which faith and reason set forth upon the boundless ocean of truth.

CHAPTER THREE: JOURNEYING IN SEARCH OF TRUTH

This chapter stresses that in search of the truth, we have to start from somewhere. However it cited Paul’s experience in his missionary journey to Athens and how he took a particular altar, an altar to an unknown god, as a convenient starting point to establish a common base for his proclamation of the truth. Truth is the proper object of all human desire to know. John Paul in this chapter emphasizes that the truth pursued by one’s life should be true, because only true values can lead people to realize themselves fully. The truth comes initially as a question: does life have a meaning? Where is it going? No one can avoid this questioning and the answers we give determine whether or not we can attain universal and absolute truth. Every truth presents itself as universal.

However, this chapter tried also to state that the search for truth is not always transparent; the natural limitation of reason and the inconsistency of the heart often distort our search for truth, but it is unthinkable that a search so deeply rooted in human nature would be completely vain and useless. The truth that is revealed by God in Jesus is not opposed to the truth which philosophers perceive. Hence the unity of truth is the fundamental premise of human reasoning. The truth of revelation is to be understood in the light of reason.

CHAPTER FOUR: IMPORTANT MOMENTS IN THE ENCOUNTER OF FAITH AND REASON

This chapter tried to clarify the fact that philosophy is relevant to Christianity and that it has been used down the history of Christianity. The major concern of classical philosophy was to purify the human notions of God of mythological elements. In tracing the adoption of philosophy by Christianity, we should not confuse philosophy as a practical wisdom with a higher esoteric kind of knowledge reserved for the perfect. The engagement of Christianity with philosophy is not straight-forward nor immediate; Christian thinkers are critical in adopting philosophical thoughts. The ways in which eastern and western fathers engaged philosophical schools is different. It is here that the originality of what the fathers accomplished is seen. The role of philosophically trained reason was conspicuous in the scholastic theology.

This chapter equally stress the fact that faith and philosophy recovers profound unity which allows them to stand in harmony with their nature without comparing their mutual autonomy. Faith must be matched by the boldness of reason.

CHAPTER FIVE: THE MAGISTERIUM’S DESCERNMENT AS THE DIAKONIA OF THE TRUTH

This chapter tried to make it clear that the church has no philosophy of her own neither does it place any philosophy above another in preference. It went further to explain that the reason for this is that philosophy must remain faithful to its principles and methods when it engages theology. For this, the magisterium, in the light of faith, must discern critically and authoritatively the opinions and philosophies which contradict Christian doctrine. However, this discernment must not be negative, as if it is an intended abolition.

This chapter emphasized on the church’s intense interest in philosophy, however this interest does not promote philosophies that are odds with the faith. There is a harmonious relationship between theology and philosophy.

CHAPTER SIX: THE KNOWLEDGE OF FAITH AND THE DEMANDS OF PHILOSOPHICAL REASON

This chapter emphasizes that theology as a structured understanding of faith should relate in some of its tasks and procedures to philosophies. Philosophy contributes to theology with its study of the structure of knowledge and personal communication; philosophical contributions are important to a coherent understanding of the church’s tradition. There is a compatibility existing between faith and human reason. Faith shows fully the part of reason in a sincere search for the truth. The relationship between theology and philosophy is best construed as a circle; however theology’s source and starting point must always be the word of God revealed in history. The fruitfulness of this relationship is confirmed by the experience of great Christian theologians who also distinguished themselves as great philosophers. One can equally distinguish different stances of philosophy with regards to Christian faith.

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE INDISPENSABLE REQUIREMENTS OF THE WORD OF GOD

Here, in this chapter, the richness of the sacred scriptures is emphasized. Christians have come to an ever deeper awareness of the wealth to be found in the sacred text; here we come to the awareness that our experiences are not absolute, God alone is absolute. Man was shown by the Bible as imago Dei. John Paul further explains in this chapter that the vision offers indications regarding human life, freedom and immortality. However the fundamentality of the biblical philosophy is that the world and human life have a meaning and look towards their fulfillment which comes in Jesus Christ. But the human spirit is ever invaded by an ambiguous thinking which leads it to a deep introversion.

The word of God transcends human experience; it is a mystery which theology cannot render intelligible. This chapter equally emphasizes that the requirement of the word of God upon philosophy maybe seen as daunting by some people, however there is an insistence for a needed relationship of continuity between contemporary philosophy and the philosophy of Christian tradition, and this is intended to avert the dangers which lies hidden in some thoughts which are prevalent in our days. And there is need to review them and point out the errors in them. These include eclecticism, scientism, and pragmatism. Conclusively, John Paul said that the philosophical enquiry can help to clarify the relationship between truth and life. It involves reciprocity between theological disciplines and the insights drawn from philosophy.

CONCLUSION

This encyclical fides et ratio stresses the need to establish a relationship between faith and reason, which by extension requires a correlation of philosophy and theology. John Paul in this encyclical tried to communicate the importance of striking a balance between our faith and reason and the importance of correcting the notions of philosophy that contradicts our doctrines of faith. This involves reciprocity between theological disciplines and the insights of philosophy. He tried to make it clear to us that philosophy is the mirror which reflects the culture of a people and that any philosophy which responds to the demands of theology and evolves in harmony with faith is part of the evangelization of culture.