An essay from my Philosophy of Western Religion Class

Hick attempts to convince us that religious belief can be rational (or rationally justified). Do you agree? Is it rational to hold religious beliefs?


This is a very good question but I think that religious beliefs can be justified. I'm going to take a different approach on this and am more then likely going to get challenged but I'm not looking for a challenge nor will I respond to them. I just want people to look at another side for a moment and think outside the box.

We have many believes but put limitations on things so that we can understand them. If fact isn't it the human thing to put limits on things so that we can try to understand something? What if there was something out there that we couldn't fully grasp or understand, how would that go over? Lets take the universe, how big is it really? Where does it start and end? Isn't there always a beginning and an end? What if there was something so big that we couldn't grasp it or even measure it such as space? But by trying to understand space or the universe we put limits on it? For example the number one hundred to write it out it looks like this, 100. Pretty easy, but what about the number infinity? How do you write that number? You can't because its so big that we can only identify it by using a symbol. Why can't we write it out in numerical form? Do we really even fully understand infinity or by saying there is a number that is so be we just put a label on it on go with it. Personally I'm going on faith that such a number exists because I have yet to see it.

If fact what does air look like? I don't know, I can't see air but I know I need it to breath or at least that is what I am told I am breathing. You can't proof to me that air exists because your can't see air, all you can see is the effects of air. So to prove that air exists you have to use the effects that air leaves behind/ So again I am going to go on faith that such a thing really exists because I can't see it. So now my question is about God. We can't see God but if you look around at all we have, the complexity of our cellular make up, the mountains, the sea, animals, all of nature, humans, air, space or even ipods. I think we see the effects of God all around us but because we can't understand who God is we tend to put limitations on Him and that is what we base our religious beliefs on.

If you do not belief in a god or the God then you wouldn't see a reason for justification for religious beliefs. If you do then that is how you make up your beliefs.

I think faith is pretty interesting because I go on faith everyday that I will keep breathing this thing I can't see called air. I also believe in a God who is bigger then the air I breath.


I think religious beliefs are rational. Whats not rational about being kind, loving to all, respectful, honest and trying to follow in the example of Jesus Christ. Is trying to be a good person that bad?

Irrational is defined as not endowed with reason or understanding (2): lacking usual or normal mental clarity or coherence b: not governed by or according to reason.

I am proud to say I also believe in a God whom I can't fully comprehend, I think that's irrational.