Entering the ancient discussion of the tension between faith and reason is no easy task. Of course, when dealing with tensions it is always important to define the terms. For reasons of consistency I will refer to the Oxford online dictionary for both the definition of faith and reason. Faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. Reason is “a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event.” These are the definitions that will be used in this article. From the above definitions, the conclusion that is logically deduced is that reason precedes faith. The common conception seems to be that faith can be unreasonable. Therefore faith cannot precede reason. It is important to make a distinction between the concept of "unreasonable" and the concept of "without reason". Unreasonable means “not guided or based on common sense.” Considering a previous definition, “without reason” would be without explanation or justification. While “unreasonable” implies explanations or justifications, however, the quality of these reasons will be poor. If you stick to the above definition of reason, then you will be inclined to agree that reason must precede faith. Allow an illustration. Laura is sitting on a chair. Micah asks Laura if she thinks the chair will support her. Laura exclaims, “Of course he will!” “But how do you really know?” Micah asks. “Every chair I have sat in has supported my weight and I have no reason to believe this time will be any different.” says Laura. It is obvious that Laura's faith in the chair was preceded by a conscious or subconscious reason. Further evidence is found in a further motif. The original philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, both believe... half of article ......wins, trans.) New York: Benziger Bros. .Clarck, S. L. (1984). From Athens to Jerusalem: The Love of Wisdom and the Love of God. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Dawkins, R. (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Harcourt Publishing. Gelwick, R. (1977). The path of discovery. New York: Oxford University Press.Greenspan, P. (2003). Emotions, rationality and mind/body. In A. Hatzimoysis (ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.Habermas, J. (2010). An awareness of what is missing: faith and reason in a post-secular age. (C. Cronin, trans.) Frankfurt: Polity Press.Lewis, C.S. (1952). Simple Christianity. New York: HarperCollins Publishing.Marsden, G. M. (2003). Jonathan Edwards: a life. New Haven: Yale University Press. Saint Michael's Institute. (1970). reason and reality. London: St. Martin's Press.Sousa, R. d. (1987). The rationality of emotion. Cambridge: The MIT Press.