Islam and Peace
Faith and Reason
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FAITH AND REASON
In its issue no. 134 (1992), the journal,
Faith and
Reason,
published from Manchester College, Oxford
(England), brought out an article titled, ‘The
Relationship between Faith and Reason’, by Dr Paul
Badham Paul Badham is a Professor of Theology
and Religious Studies at St. David’s College,
Lampeter, in the University of Wales. His paper in
this issue had been presented at a Conference of the
Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of
Science in Moscow in November 1991.
Professor Badham’s paper can indeed be called
thought provoking, and as such, is worth reading,
but he has made certain points with which I do not
agree. He states that philosophical certainty should
not be confused with religious certitude. He writes:
‘As a philosopher of religion I feel compelled to
acknowledge that faith could never be placed on the
same level of certainty as scientific knowledge’ (p.
6). On the contrary, I feel that faith and belief can be
placed on the same level of certainty as scientific
theory. At least, in the twentieth century there is no
real difference between the two.
