Hildegard Faith And Reason Analysis

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Faith and how it relates to reason is showcased in numerous philosophical texts. Philosophers behind these texts take different approaches and demonstrate – both directly and indirectly – how faith and reason relate to one another, or not at all. The relation of faith and reason can be traced back to Ancient Greek and early Christian thought, but is more predominantly evident in Hildegard of Bingen’s The Book of Divine Works and Galilei Galileo’s Letter to Madame Christina of Loraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Hildegard and Galileo think faith and reason relate to one another; however, the role of faith and how it influences each thinker is where this correlation diverges. Faith plays a heavy role in Hildegard’s reasoning because through her revelation – visionary experiences – God speaks to her and has her write His word in order to provide knowledge of Him. On the other hand, Galileo believes that faith should not affect reason because the Bible’s role is only for salvation; scientific reasoning should rather bolster what the Bible says or cannot explain. Thus faith and reason do relate …show more content…

Hildegard evidently does not refer to or speak of the Bible because her visions are evidence of God relaying His word through her. Being as Hildegard has a direct connection with God as a vessel for Hid word, she indirectly renders the Bible useless because her visionary experiences provide knowledge of God that the Bible would otherwise provide. The Bible is traditionally seen as the source of knowledge of God, how human beings should coexist, and salvation. Though Hildegard does not denounce or directly disregard the Bible, she indirectly does so because she takes it upon herself to teach the ways of God through her visions. Even though God comes to her and she agrees to write His word, it seems as if God Himself indirectly disregards the Bible more so than

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