Natural or Supernatural? Two Perspectives on Acquiring Christian Faith

This paper explores a conflict between two accounts of the origins of Christian faith and outlines a solution to this conflict. The first account, rooted in Christian theological tradition, sees faith as a supernatural gift from God. The second, based on the Cognitive Science of Religion, explains how people acquire religious beliefs through purely natural processes. After sketching both accounts, I identify the key area in which they conflict: accepting that faith is supernatural seems to preclude a fully naturalistic explanation of the origins of faith, seemingly forcing one to choose between the theological and the scientific account. To resolve this conflict, I draw on an Augustine--inspired conception of miracles and Denis Edwards’ theology of divine action.