Atheists assert that faith is inferior to reason. One of the reasons (no pun untended) for this is that they usually have a misconception of what faith actually is, thinking it is blind faith or credulity. True Biblical faith is:

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”—Hebrews 11:1 NASB

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for, it is the evidence of things we cannot see”—Hebrews 11:1 NLT

“Faith” here is from the Greek word pistis, which refers “to confidence that something is real, with a strong implication that action will ensue from this belief” (NLT Word Study System).

So Biblical faith is not a blind belief in something without any good reason to think so. For example, a person may be getting monthly retirement payments from a large, stable entity, such as the United States government. He/she has a very reasonable expectation of receiving next month’s payment, and so on, and plans accordingly. This could be called “faith” in the US government’s ability to pay.  Reasonable people have a reasonable expectation of “day and night” (Genesis 8:22) and plan accordingly. Biblical faith is built upon truth and facts.

“Every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God”—Hebrews 3:4 NASB

When we see houses and buildings, we know, or have faith, that they were designed and built by humans, even though we may not have seen the designer(s) or the builder(s). This very well illustrates the relationship between reason and faith. Real faith is built upon reason and facts, not blind belief.

Many people do not think the Bible encourages the use of reason, but it does, as can be seen from the scriptures themselves:

“The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable”—James 3:17 NASB

“The proverbs . . . for learning what wisdom and discipline are, to understand words of deep meaning, for acquiring a disciplined insight, uprightness, justice and fair dealing; for teaching sound judgment to the simple, knowledge and reflection to the young; for perceiving the meaning of proverbs and obscure sayings”—Proverbs 1:1-6 NJB

We can see from this that the Bible encourages thinking and reason. Christians are told to use reason:

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience”—1 Peter 3:15 NIV

The early Christians set a good example for us by using reason. Notice some examples of this:

“As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead”—Acts 17:2,3 NIV

“He reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day-by-day who happened to be there”—Acts 17:17 NIV

“Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks”—Acts 18:4 NIV

“Paul . . . went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews”—Acts 18:19 NIV

“Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you”—Acts 24:25 NKJV

We can see from this last scripture that often people are not comfortable with reason. But the point is that the early Christians used reasoning and Christians today also use reason. For example, Christians are given the reason Jesus came to earth:

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work”—1 John 3:8 NIV

Biblical faith is built upon the vital fact that Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth for a purpose. Notice how important is this faith that uses reason:

“Every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God”—1 John 5:4,5 NLT

Those who have Biblical faith use reason, but faith is not inferior to reason. The two work hand in hand.