Faith Minus Reason Equals Irrational Unbelief - by John MacArthur

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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It is mystifying to us how Dr. MacArthur can be viewed as a notable Bible teacher. Now perhaps he does some things well, but nearly everything we have read from him is logically deficient and nothing more than a series of undocumented assertions.

Today's article is exactly that. They key issue he wants to address, irrational faith, he does not document. In fact, he doesn't quote a single Bible verse on faith. He doesn't explain what faith is, or how rational faith works itself out. 

He completely avoids the subject at hand, and simply substitutes "sound doctrine." This is strange.

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This post was first published during April 2014. –ed.

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Did you know that faith can be seriously harmful? Some varieties of faith actually lead away from the true God—they substitute superstition, falsehood, or faith itself in place of truth. Such faith inevitably leads to spiritual disaster. It is reckless faith.

Reckless faith goes to two extremes. At one end of the spectrum it looks within—relying on feelings, inner voices, fantasy, or subjective sensations. At the other extreme it fixes its hope on some external human authority—the teachings of a supreme leader, religious tradition, magisterial dogma, or some other arbitrary canon. (We think there are more than two choices, or perhaps, the two extremes Dr. MacArthur identifies are not the two extremes. 

We would agree that blind reliance on feelings is one extreme, but few people are so far to that extreme. Yet Dr. MacArthur will attempt to push everyone that tilts to that side to the very edge, so as to set up a false train of logic. 

Large numbers of people are not intellectual, in that they are built differently and therefore view the world differently. They are not stupid, they simply tend to process things in a non-intellectual way. It is not necessarily a manifestation of "reckless" faith. The intellectual processes preferred by Dr. MacArthur are not how these people think. 

The other extreme he identifies is the teachings of a supreme leader, religious tradition, magisterial dogma, or some other arbitrary canon. However, we think the other extreme is cold intellectualism, logic, and empiricism. This extreme is in fact where Dr. MacArthur more closely aligns.

Dr. MacArthur will go on to extoll faith based on reason, absent Scriptural documentation of this idea.)

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Note that at both poles, reckless faith seeks spiritual truth apart from Scripture—and that is the very point at which it becomes reckless. Both kinds of reckless faith also have this in common: they are irrational and anti-intellectual. (We now discover why Dr. MacArthur set up the equation the way he did. He intends to equate reason and rationality with the Bible, which of course would mean that everything else is irrational.)

“Anti-intellectual” doesn’t mean they oppose intellectual snobbery. It means they spurn the intellect and encourage blind, uncritical trust. (Dr. MacArthur is now taking the most extreme portion of the experiential side of the equation and using that to brand everyone who leans that way. However, he will never discuss the other side of his equation, nor will he place his preference on the continuum. This suggests his approach is somewhere in the middle.

But that is not his purpose. In fact, his aim is to attempt to negate the emotional side, so that's why he ignores other considerations.)

Anti-intellectuals often set faith against reason, as if the two were opposites. That kind of faith is gullibility. It is foolishness, and not biblical faith. Biblical faith is never irrational. (This is a substantial claim, not documented or referenced.)

Authentic faith, in contrast, can never bypass the mind. It cannot be irrational. (Another claim, not documented or referenced.)

Faith, after all, deals with truth. Truth is objective data to be known, studied, contemplated, and understood. (Another claim, not documented or referenced.)

All those are activities that engage the intellect. (Another claim, not documented or referenced.)

That means genuine Christianity cannot be anti-intellectual. (Another claim, not documented or referenced.)

The body of truth on which our faith is based has depths that are mysterious—unfathomable to the merely human mind, or inscrutable—but truth is never irrational. (Another claim, not documented or referenced.

So now we have arrived at the natural conclusion of Dr. MacArthur's string of assertions. Let's look at the process, step-by-step:

• There are two extremes: an emotional, feelings-based faith; and, an arbitrary canon enforced by human authority;
• The emotion-based side is anti-intellectual, based on blind trust;
• The emotion-based side is anti-reason, gullible and foolish;
• Biblical faith is always rational;
• Biblical faith deals with truth;
• Truth is objective data;
• Truth is always rational;
• Study, contemplation, and comprehension of objective data engages the intellect; therefore,
• Proper Christianity must be intellectual

The reader will note that the train of logic requires accepting the premises Dr. MacArthur offers to us. Further, each subsequent step is not necessarily derived from the previous step. And lastly, as we previously noted, each step is a summary statement, undocumented and unreferenced. 

Thus his conclusions are faulty.)

The difference is all-important. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). (Finally.

Dr. MacArthur gets to a Scripture, after several paragraphs of undocumented, unverified claims. Given the value Dr. MacArthur places on the Bible, it is odd indeed that none of these previous assertions have any biblical references.)

Therefore what God says is true—and the antithesis of what He says must be false. Truth cannot be self-contradictory. Truth makes sense; nonsense cannot be true. (No, truth has no requirement to be sensible. Truth is truth regardless of who might or might not understand.)

Moreover, the doctrine on which we base our faith must be sound—which is to say it must be biblical (1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 4:2–3; Titus 1:9; 2:1).

(Let's quote the references to see if they speak to Dr. MacArthur's theme:

1 Timothy 4:6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.

2 Timothy 4:2–3 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,

Titus 1:9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

Titus 2:1 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.

We see that Dr. MacArthur is setting up a false dichotomy. He thinks that the issue is correct doctrine vs irrationality. But he doesn't demonstrate it biblically. Nothing in the above references indicate irrationality. Rather, these speak to sound doctrine vs. false teaching.) 

“If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing” (1 Timothy 6:3–4, emphasis added). Sound, biblical doctrine therefore underlies all true wisdom and authentic faith. (Dr. MacArthur happily provides documentation about issues not in dispute. We agree with the need for sound doctrine, that is not in dispute. And those are the things he takes the time to document.

But as soon as he is done, he proceeds on to more of his assertions, and his documentation suddenly disappears...)

The attitude that scorns doctrine while elevating feelings or blind trust cannot legitimately be called faith, even if it masquerades as Christianity. It is actually an irrational form of unbelief.

God holds us accountable for what we believe as well as how we think about the truth He has revealed. All Scripture testifies to the fact that God wants us to know and understand the truth. He wants us to be wise. His will is that we use our minds. We are supposed to think, to meditate—to be discerning. And that is what we will continue to pursue as this series unfolds over the coming weeks.

Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:2–6)

(Adapted from Reckless Faith.)