Personally I find the question of faith etc. without Revelation fascinating and take as a starting point the First Vatican Council Session 3, Chapter 4. The whole chapter is worth a good read but I pick out particularly the following:
4. Now reason, does indeed when it seeks persistently, piously and soberly, achieve by God's gift some understanding, and that most profitable, of the mysteries, whether by analogy from what it knows naturally, or from the connection of these mysteries with one another and with the final end of humanity; but reason is never rendered capable of penetrating these mysteries in the way in which it penetrates those truths which form its proper object.
For the divine mysteries, by their very nature, so far surpass the created understanding that, even when a revelation has been given and accepted by faith, they remain covered by the veil of that same faith and wrapped, as it were, in a certain obscurity, as long as in this mortal life we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, and not by sight [33].
5. Even though faith is above reason, there can never be any real disagreement between faith and reason, since it is the same God who reveals the mysteries and infuses faith, and who has endowed the human mind with the light of reason.
6. God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever be in opposition to truth. The appearance of this kind of specious contradiction is chiefly due to the fact that either the dogmas of faith are not understood and explained in accordance with the mind of the Church, or unsound views are mistaken for the conclusions of reason.
I spent some time specializing in Egyptology and, contrary to the usual canard that Christianity “stole” its “mythology” and festivals from ancient civilizations find that the endeavour of reason to answer one of the most compelling hungers in human nature, that for God, brought so many through applying reason to nature toward some appreciation of the truth. What’s extraordinary is that in the Egyptian mythologies it is not only the stories which have some similarities to the Truth as ultimately revealed in Christ but also their ritual – rituals whose practise was long forgotten until recent discoveries. For example the rites of Osiris at Abydos, well forgotten by the time of Christianity developing its worship, is extraordinarily similar to the Triduum. There is, to me, without doubt a part of our created nature which seeks the Creator and as He is Reason reason is able to approach Him to some degree. It is, of course, completed in the Revelation of Christ. Indeed, in some of my more Balthasarian moments, I imagine the moment in the great theandric drama where God notes how well humanity has progressed toward an understanding of Him that He announces “Well done, now here He is” as Christ enters stage right.
At present I’m studying the theory that homo sapiens sapiens started in Africa and moved from there into the world c.150,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of the “species” outside Africa are found in modern day Israel in the Skhul and Qafzeh caves. These show ritual burial, the ritual use of ochre etc and demonstrate that from the very earliest origins of the species there has been a concern for the spiritual a hunger for the divine. What is equally fascinating is that these two caves are one in Mount Carmel and the other 2km from Nazareth respectively.
If this seems to stray into “evolution” then I would emphasis two things: one we need not be irrational evangelicals whose opposition to evolution is a “scandal”, two we might instead be (in so far as we may be) “undecided” on the whole question while showing that it need not be in opposition to the Genesis revelation. I love what Pius XII wrote on the issue:
36. For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. However, this must be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those favourable and those unfavourable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faith.[11] Some however, rashly transgress this liberty of discussion, when they act as if the origin of the human body from pre-existing and living matter were already completely certain and proved by the facts which have been discovered up to now and by reasoning on those facts, and as if there were nothing in the sources of divine revelation which demands the greatest moderation and caution in this question.
If, and it’s a huge “if”, homos sapiens sapiens did evolve from some previous species of primate it is entirely reasonable to suggest that this was with God not just as the “watchmaker” but also the “movement.” Was there a moment of “ensouling” of those first two humans who enjoyed walking in paradise with the Creator until the exile of the Fall? Whatever the story all of their descendents have cried ever since “let us back in!” in all their spiritual efforts.
The huge problem today is that “reason” is totally identified with scientific method, scientific knowledge and has exiled itself from the noumenous and spiritual. It’s a denial of human nature which places in the path of reason and discovery declarations of “truth” which, unlike the Truth, permit no further investigation or understanding. The general populace believes that every question has been answered, there’s nothing more to be done, reason has finished its job so it is no longer essential lets forget about what distinguishes us from the rest of creation and become beasts whose raison d’etre is rutting and consuming. It’s an astonishing effort to force “devolution” on humanity, to deny what is different and unique – which for some obscure reason seems to be quite successful. Whether one believes we are 6,000 or 160,000 years old the current era involves contradicting that entire history, subverting ALL the anthropological evidence.
I’ve heard two of the three hungers coupled by suggesting contraception is sexual bulimia, I would use a similar analogy to deal with the third hunger and suggest modern “reason” is spiritual anorexia.
