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Why do skeptics assume that faith and reason are mutually exclusive?

18 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    "Faith is believing what you know ain't so"

    -- Mark Twain

    There is nothing reasonable about believing in things that are utterly void of evidence.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    The two are incompatible and an oxymoron since as soon as the real power to reason arrives faith is busted!!

    Acceptance of a supernatural claim tends to promote cooperative social relationships. This communication demonstrates a willingness to accept, without skepticism, the influence of the speaker in a way similar to a child's acceptance of the influence of a parent. By encouraging this kind of behavior where the most intense social relationships occur it facilitates the lack of skepticism and deters more open minded thinking.

    They are christian, Muslim or the other religions depending where they were born simply because they were indoctrinated by their parents as very young children. They will go on to indoctrinate their own children and those will go on to indoctrinate their grandchildren!!

    Atheists have the intellect to see through the conditioning and escape into the real world!!

    Agnostics have the intellect to see through the conditioning but lack the courage to throw of the conditioning entirely.

    Sadly Christians, like yourself, are still held firmly prisoner by the self perpetuating brainwashing!!

    Source(s): University of Missouri-Columbia. Arizona State University
  • kr55
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    They won't take the time to reason about anything of faith. For instance, if they could reason that the Bible was inspired by God, then their faith would increase. There is no way mere man could have written the Bible with the prophecies in the old testament that were fulfilled in the new testament. If someone were to take the time to truly study this and think about it, how could their faith NOT increase??

  • ?
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    "Why do skeptics assume that faith and reason are mutually exclusive?"

    Cos it's a fact.

    Faith is NOT dependent on reason.

    Reason is NOT dependent on faith.

    Martin Luther: Reason must be deluded, blinded, and destroyed.

    Faith must trample underfoot all reason, sense, and understanding, and whatever it sees must be put out of sight and know nothing but the word of God.

    ~

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Because of the absurd claims faith groups make and defend.

    Pi = 3

    Snakes talk

    Bats are birds

    and these hardly scratch the surface.

  • neil s
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    Because if you had evidence and reason, no faith would be needed. Faith is nothing but wishful thinking.

  • 1 decade ago

    I just read the top ten definitions for "reason" on google, and none of them seem to contradict the idea of faith.

    It doesn't say you need facts to come to reasonable, rational conclusions. People who assume that faith and reason are mutually exclusive are being influenced by their own bias toward one or the other.

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1G...

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1G...

    Source(s): Brutally Honest
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Faith is a blindly accepting something without fact or proof

    reason is not believing anything without fact or proof they are complete opposites

  • 1 decade ago

    it's an observation, not an assumption. well I wouldn't say they're mutually exclusive. they do often come into conflict, though.

  • 1 decade ago

    Faith - belief that something exists without any evidence - is irrational. It's as simple as that.

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