Faith and Understanding

Φησὶ δὲ, τινὰς, μηδὲ βουλομένος διδόναι ἢ λαμβᾴνειν λόγον περὶ ὦν πιστεύουσι, χρῆσθαι τῷ, Μὴ ἐξέταζε, ἀλλὰ πίστευσον· καὶ, Ἡ πίστις σου σώσει σε. Καὶ φησιν αὐτοὺς λέγειν· Κακὸν ἡ ἐν τῷ Βιῳ σοφία, ἀγαθὸν δ' ἡ μωρία. Λεκτέον δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο, ὅτι, εἰ μὲν οἴόν τω πάντας καταλιπόντας τὰ τοῦ βίου πράγματα σχολάζειν τῷ φιλοσοφεῖν, ἄλλην ὁδὸν οὐ μεταδιωκτέον οὐδενὶ ἢ ταύτην μόνην· εὑρεθήσεται ηὰρ καὶ ἐν τῷ Χριστιανισμῷ οὐκ ἐλάττων, ἴνα μὴ φορτικόν τι εἴπω, ἐξέτασις τῶν πεπιστευμένων, καὶ διήγησις τῶν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις αἰνιγμάτων, καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις παραβολῶν, καὶ ἄλλων μυρίων συμβολικως γεγενημένων ἢ νενομοθετημενων. Εἰ δὲ τοῠτ' ἀμήχανον, πὴ μὲν διὰ τὰς τοῦ Βίου ἀνάγκας, πὴ δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀσθένειαν, σφόδρα ὀλίγων ἐπὶ τὸν λόγον ᾀττόντων· ποία ἂν ἂλλη βελτίων μέθοδος πρὸς τὸ τοῖς πολλοῖς βοηθῆσαι εὑρεθείη τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς ἔθνεσι παραδοθείσης; Καὶ πυνθανόμεθά γε περὶ τοῠ πλήθους τῶν πιστευόντων, τὴν πολλὴν χύσιν τῆς κακίας ἀποθεμένων, ἐν ᾔ πρότερον ἐκαλινδοῦντο· πότερον βέλτιόν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ἀλόγως πιστεύουσι κατεστάλθαι πως τὰ ἥθη καὶ ὠφελῆσθαι, διὰ τὴν περὶ τῶν κολαζομένων ἐπὶ ἁμαρτίαις καὶ τιμωμένων ἐπὶ ἔρςοις χρηστοῖς πίστιν, ἢ μὴ προσίεσθαι αὐτῶν τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν μετὰ φιλῆς πίστεως, ἒως ἄν ἐπιδῶσιν ἑαυτοὺς ἐξετασει λόγων; Φανερῶς, γὰρ οἱ πάντες παρ' ἐλαχίστους οὐδὲ ψοῦτο λήψονται, ὅπερ εἰλήφασιν, ἐκ τοῦ ἁπλῶς πεπιστευκέναι, ἀλλὰ μενοῦσιν ἐν κακίστῳ βιῳ. Ὠριγένης, Κατα Κελσου, Τόμος Πρῶτος

And he says that some, not wishing to give or receive a reason for their belief, keep repeating, 'Do not examine, but believe,' and, 'Your faith will save you.' And he also reports that they say, 'The wisdom of this life is bad and foolishness is good.' It should be said concerning this that if it were possible for everyone, having abandoned the affairs of life, to have time for philosophy, no other way should be pursued, and, not to boast, it will be found in Christianity that there is not less investigation of the reasons of faith and explanation of difficulties in the prophetical writings and in the parables of the Gospels, and in many other things, which either happened or were enacted with a symbolic signification, but since it is not feasible that all study, partly on account of the exigences of life, partly on account of the weakness of men, with only a very few individuals excelling in such studies, what better method could there be to assist the multitude, than that which was given by Jesus to the Gentile? And let us inquire concerning the multitude of believers who have washed off the welter of wickedness in which they formerly wallowed, whether it were better for them to believe without a reason, and to have been reformed and improved in their conduct through the belief that men are chastised for sins and honoured for good works, or not to have allowed themselves to be converted on the appeal of mere faith, not until they had given themselves to a thorough examination of the reasons? It is obvious that only a few would obtain what many have obtained through a simple faith but rather many would remain in a wicked life. Origen, Against Celsus, Book I