"God is greater than reason"

[vijeno]

Hi,

I have often heard the stance that god is "greater than reason", so even if the claim of god's existence is unfalsifiable and therefore unscientific, everyone can happily believe whatever. After all, Ockam's razor only applies in science, so why bother...

Are there any refutations to this claim? Pointers, perhaps...?

Thanks.

 

[tumbleweed41]

Hi,

I have often heard the stance that god is "greater than reason", so even if the claim of god's existence is unfalsifiable and therefore unscientific, everyone can happily believe whatever. After all, Ockam's razor only applies in science, so why bother...

Are there any refutations to this claim? Pointers, perhaps...?

Thanks.

It is an unverifiable claim that in it's very utterance defies reason.

 

[Breathe]

It is an unverifiable claim that in it's very utterance defies reason.

What tumbleweed said.

 

[vijeno]

Well, yeah... I just would like it a bit more formalistic, you see...

 

[PolyHedral]

Well, the claim itself basically says "I'm right, even if you can prove me wrong". The only useful thing you can say about it is that it is self-defeating. (Since God being both above and constrained by reason is not a contradiction if he is ignoring logic.)

 

[Father Heathen]

I would like to think that, if there were a god, it would be the embodiment of reason.

 

[sandandfoam]

Occam's razor and reason tell of the human mind not 'reality'

 

[PolyHedral]

Reality is assumed to be logically consistent. If this assumption does not hold, discussion is moot.

 

[Thief]

The topic is not well presented.

God is greater than reason?
Whose reason...what kind of reason...emotional reason....intellectual....?

How about God as the greater reason...and it's up to you to get on with it.

 

[PolyHedral]

Whose reason...what kind of reason...emotional reason....intellectual....?

Formal reason. You'll find it is quite well-defined.

 

[sandandfoam]

Reality is assumed to be logically consistent.

It's quite an assumption really, isn't it?

 

[PolyHedral]

Without it, discussion cannot productively take place, since no statement can meaningfully be made.

 

[Thief]

Without it, discussion cannot productively take place, since no statement can meaningfully be made.

So you have a particular discipline of logic and nothing else matters?

 

[TashaN]

Hi,

I have often heard the stance that god is "greater than reason", so even if the claim of god's existence is unfalsifiable and therefore unscientific, everyone can happily believe whatever. After all, Ockam's razor only applies in science, so why bother...

Are there any refutations to this claim? Pointers, perhaps...?

Thanks.

God himself is greater than reason, and if you want me to put it in a simple way, it's like this. We can't see electricity, but we feel its presence, the same with God. We can observe his creation and we can conclude his greatness based on that and so many other things even if He himself is beyond reason.

 

[Yerda]

The only way I can make sense of that sentence is that "it is better to have God than reason". Which it may be. I doubt it though.

 

[Father Heathen]

We can't see electricity, but we feel its presence, the same with God.

We can sense, experience, observe, test and interact with electricity. Not so with god. Build a car that runs on electricity and build another that runs on faith and tell me which one travels the furthest.

 

[Thesavorofpan]

Hi,

I have often heard the stance that god is "greater than reason", so even if the claim of god's existence is unfalsifiable and therefore unscientific, everyone can happily believe whatever. After all, Ockam's razor only applies in science, so why bother...

Are there any refutations to this claim? Pointers, perhaps...?

Thanks.

Never heard of that before.

 

[Skwim]

I have to agree with PolyHedral when he said that "god is greater than reason" is a claim that "itself basically says "I'm right, even if you can prove me wrong". It's a faith-saving device used when arguments for his existence or character have been pretty well ground to pulp. A sad, silly remark that only impresses those who utter it.

 

[the_pranjal]

well friends' in my opinion logic, intellect is the product of mind, accumulated knowledge of ours...no truth can be known through logic or reasoning....it can simply prove what is right as wrong and what is wrong as right...if you beleive on eden story humanity falls after eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge.....no knowledge can lead us to know the truth because its the creation of mind....when we are born we dont have any mind, no language, no reasoning so we feel godliness, as we cultivate mind we push ourselves in all dilemmas...so i think God or Feeling of Godliness is somithing beyond mind,REASON...

 

[Breathe]

It's a faith-saving device used when arguments for his existence or character have been pretty well ground to pulp. A sad, silly remark that only impresses those who utter it.

Definitely true.


I know someone who used the something almost identical to the OP's quote in a discussion/debate with me, since he was trying to preach Christianity to me, so when I decided to start pressing him on his faith (as opposed to ignoring). After declaring Jesus is Truth shrug he eventually came up with:

"Truth is greater than logic"

A lot of respect was lost by that simple phrase.



Who else has had such a phrase said to them? I know I'm not the only one here.