Question Why is it that faith, which here I define as religious-based beliefs without or in opposition to empirical or other evidence, is so highly valued, or even central to Christianity (and assumedly many other religions as well)? Perhaps the assumption is that faith is a more 'humble' position rather than over-valueing humankind's ability to rationalise and use logic to understand the world around them, since humility/ lack of pride is highly valued by many major religions ?? Does this mean that philosophy is quite arrogant ? But perhaps that is more a question for psychology and sociology. So in more philosophical terms, I guess I am asking whether faith can be justified from a philosophical point of view, or are the two quite incompatible?

Accepted:

August 19, 2010