Fideism

[3] Theologians and philosophers have responded in various ways to the place of faith and reason in determining the truth of metaphysical ideas, morality, and religious beliefs.

[4] A qualified form of fideism is sometimes attributed to Immanuel Kant's famous suggestion that we must "deny knowledge in order to make room for faith".

[5] Alvin Plantinga defines "fideism" as "the exclusive or basic reliance upon faith alone, accompanied by a consequent disparagement of reason and is used especially in the pursuit of philosophical or religious truth".

[6] The doctrine of fideism is consistent with some, and radically contrary to other theories of truth: Tertullian taught fideistic concepts such as the later philosophers William of Ockham and Søren Kierkegaard.

[3] Tertullian's De Carne Christi (On the Flesh of Christ])[8] says "the Son of God died; it is by all means to be believed, because it is absurd.

"[9] On the other hand, some deny Tertullian's fideistic character, the statement "Credo quia absurdum" ("I believe because it is absurd") is sometimes cited as an example of views of the Church Fathers.

"[13] Another form of fideism is assumed by Pascal's Wager, which is a rational argument for a pragmatic view of God's existence.

"[16] Considered to be the father of modern antirationalism, Johann Georg Hamann promoted a view that elevated faith alone as the only guide to human conduct.

He attacks systems like Spinozism that try to confine what he feels is the infinite majesty of God into a finite human creation.

This modified form of fideism is also evident in his famous suggestion that we must "deny knowledge in order to make room for faith".

Due to the fact that religious experience is fundamentally ineffable, it is impossible to hold a coherent discussion of it using public language.

[21] Lev Shestov is associated with radical fideism, holding that religious truth can only be gained by rejecting reason.

The Anti-Modernist oath promulgated by Pope Pius X required Catholics to affirm that: God, the origin and end of all things, can be known with certainty by the natural light of reason from the created world (cf.

1:20), that is, from the visible works of creation, as a cause from its effects, and that, therefore, his existence can also be demonstratedSimilarly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that: Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty.

For the truths that concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation.

The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin.

In the encyclical, John Paul II warned against "a resurgence of fideism, which fails to recognize the importance of rational knowledge and philosophical discourse for the understanding of faith, indeed for the very possibility of belief in God".

This opposition and contradiction does not inherently prove something is true in Catholic thought, but acts an additional possible indication of its truth.