The Problem of Faith Today, by Josef Pieper

The difficulty of discussing proofs and counterproofs in matters of faith lies in the fact that, strictly speaking, faith is not based on proofs, or at least not on factual arguments which can be reduced to precise formulations, and thus cannot be deeply affected by such arguments. Naturally this is a somewhat misleading statement; but we are in deep waters here. On the one hand, of course, true faith does not arise like a bolt out of the blue. On the other hand, the decision to believe does not simply represent the final proposition of a syllogism. One is never forced to believe by, let us say, the rules of logic. By its very nature faith does not represent a logically compelling deduction. If I carry out an arithmetical computation, there comes a moment when I have no choice but to acknowledge the validity of my results; for it is simply impossible for me to oppose the truth of the knowledge thus made evident to me. But the state of affairs which the believer accepts through faith, is not evident to him; he confronts no compelling truth. …

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