Faith and Reason

I have been thinking about what we can really arrive at through our reason alone or a priori. The Ontological Argument is seen as Natural Theology, even though it draws on no experiences of God because Anselm believed that through reason alone we are able to "convince, to a large extent, of the truth of these beliefs [existence of God and knowledge of His attributes], simply by reason alone" (Monologion).

Søren Kierkegaard rejected this position in "Philosophical Fragments" and argued that it is a fallacy to prove God's existence from His attributes (i.e. that he is eternal, perfect, necessary) as you must state that something exists before assigning them characteristics. 

He argues that rational arguments do not sufficiently convince you of God's existence because faith is required to bridge the gap between doubt and certainty.

As long as I keep my hold on the proof, i.e., continue to demonstrate, the existence does not come out, if for no other reason than that I am engaged in proving it; but when I let the proof go, the existence is there. 

[Chapter 3: The Absolute Paradox: A Metaphysical Crotchet]

He believed that logical deduction requires justification in the form of faith, because faith goes beyond reason. This quote reveals that once you recognize the limits of reason and take the 'leap of faith' you will truly believe in God. It is important to have faith in the first place, in order to interpret experiences. 

For Kierkegaard, the limits of what reason can explain is faced in Christian Theology with 'The Absolute Paradox':

• Jesus Christ as entirely man and entirely divine, entirely creator and entirely creature, infinitely perfect and finitely imperfect.

Which are all contradictory and opposing statements!

The believer has two choices when they encounter this problem with reason:

1. Offense - where the reason does not come to a mutual understanding with the paradox and rejects the paradox. 
2. Faith - the leap is taken and the believer realises that the paradox transcends the limits of reason.

This is not to say that faith is irrational (i.e. it doesn't go against reason) but non-rational (i.e. beyond reason).

I think that for true belief in God the leap is essential because the logical arguments are restrictive and eventually there must be a time where a choice is made to have real faith.