Reasoning Power

by CR (043)

Reasoning power is a valuable quality of the spirit which allows it to analyse the facts of life and to learn from events.

Reasoning is like a light focused on the difficult problems of life to make them clear and understandable.

Besides guiding the spirit in the course of its spiritual evolution, it also represents a powerful weapon of defense against fanaticism, against worldly conventionalism, against mystical beliefs that produce the blindness of faith, which are indicative of acute or mild forms of obsession.

That's why this philosophy called Christian Rationalism makes an eloquent and constant plea for study and reasoning so that every person will realise the need for a diligent effort towards self-improvement. Knowledge about real life, which is a continuous process of study, will never be understood by those who, without reasoning, limit themselves to repeating obsolete concepts linked to religious dogmatisms.

A spirit starts the acquisition of the Reasoning Power in its first stage of an incarnation in human form. As soon as he begins to reason, the incarnated spirit already uses its reasoning power, although in a vague and confusing way, to recognize the existence of a Superior Intelligence which he is unable to define. Hence his inclination to worship which is fully justified by the conditions of ignorance in which he lives.

Therefore it is understandable that people who live in jungles, have never seen modern life and have never acquired more advanced knowledges may worship fire, lightning or the sun. They still lack a basis of reasoning to dissuade them from worshipping natural phenomena.

The development of the reasoning power needs time to evolve and according to the natural laws, which includes the law of evolution, the spirit goes through countless reincarnations in order to develop spiritually, including his reasoning power. 

Reasoning is closely connected to thinking and this association can create images, conceive ideas, build for the present and for the future. Through thought and the power of reasoning, man makes decisions, creates solutions, discovers and resolves life's problems. 

Reason is guided by intelligence which is also a powerful ally of perfection. Reason and intelligence makes the spirit realize its faults leading it to make efforts to correct them. 

Unfortunately reasoning power can also be applied for evil. However, a backward man, no matter how evil his intentions may be, cannot go beyond certain limits imposed by the shortcomings of his reasoning power. On the other hand, a smarter spirit, like for instance a scientist, can use his intellect and reasoning power for evil purposes and by doing that, he may cause devastating harm.

The greater the power of reasoning, the easier it becomes to control free will, which is a spiritual gift controlled by volition. Therefore, the improper use of free will, results from low reasoning capacity

Another problem related to the lack of reasoning is Fanaticism. Excessive intolerance of opposing views,  means that intelligence is somewhat clouded and the reasoning power is hindered. This sometimes occur with those who restrict themselves to watching exclusively physical phenomena, while closing their reasoning to the analysis of psychic phenomenology, thus takin a narrow-minded view of spiritual matters. 

In terms of family life, those who are willing to use their reasoning power and make good use of their intelligence will not lack the means of expression to convey to their children sound ideas about the subtleties of earthly life.

Man needs to reason in order to live sensibly. He needs to act in an independent way, using his own moral and spiritual resources. Those who do wrong will inescapably have to redeem it sooner or later, either in the present or future reincarnations.

In conclusion, with the proper exercise of the reasoning power, man can follow the rules of good conduct in order to solve the problems he constantly faces, always bearing in mind the importance of honesty and the good use of his free will. 

References

[1] Christian Rationalism, 1st Edition, Rio de Janeiro 1984

[2] Compilation, paraphrasing, translation from original texts in Portuguese