TTSNBSIM 8: "More Than Logic is Needed to Believe in God"

TTSNBSIM (Things That Should Never Be Said In Mass)

#8: "More Than Logic is Needed to Believe in God"

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This series is on the subject of things that I've heard said at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which should, in reality, never be said there.  Often, it's because these things are incorrect, but occasionally, it's simply because the remark, as stated, is not explained well enough, and will inevitably be misinterpreted.  In the latter case, the post will also contain an explanation of why this is, as well as proposed -alternatives,- which make the intended statement a bit more clear.

This is a bit of a tough one.  It's not exactly -false,- but it can easily give the wrong message.  In fact, the difficulty of explaining why this statement is true is the main reason why I don't feel it should be said at mass.  The only exception, as far as I can see, would be if you planned to devote an entire sermon to explaining -this one statement- by itself.  That said, if you -do- have such a sermon planned, read on.

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The principle problem with the statement is that it seems to imply that our faith is not logical, nor can logic lead one to belief.  I know from personal experience that this is not the case.

There are other permutations of this statement such as "the faith goes beyond logic" or "in order to truly believe, you need to go beyond logic."  All of these statements, far from demonstrating the superiority of the faith over mere rational thought, merely give the impression that the faith is irrational and unreasonable, which is far from the truth.  There are many good proofs for the existence of God and the accuracy of Christianity/Catholicism.

This statement is true, only because belief is not a statement of truth.  It's perfectly possible to believe something for which there's no proof, and it's perfectly possible to disbelieve something for which there are -mountains- of proof.  Belief is not something which can be "proven" into existence.

Belief is an act of the will.  Therefore, if you believe in God, this is because you have -decided- to believe in God, either based on the evidence/arguments (rational belief) or -not- based on the evidence/arguments (irrational belief.)

For this reason, and this reason only, it is not -technically- false to say that more than logic is needed to believe in God.  You also need the will to make the decision to accept the conclusion that the evidence leads to.

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If you really want to spend a sermon explaining -all- of that, by all means, go for it.  However, the statement, by itself, might as well be an open denial of the rational nature of the Christian faith, because that's certainly how many people will take it.