Rationalism vs. Faith: A Necessary Choice?

Recently I've been reading Ayn Rand's literary monument to her Objectivist philosophy, the novel Atlas Shrugged. For those unfamiliar with the novel, it is set in a sort of anti-utopian (dystopian?) United States that has essentially been taken over by socialism/collectivism and the idea that need justifies taking from the productive and re-distributing to those who only consume. Ultimately, the "producers"-artists, composers, innovators in every field from science and medicine to law, philosophy, and industry,-decide to "strike"; to abandon the society that exploits them and to withhold their gifts from mankind. The novel expands upon Rand's belief that the purpose of man is achievement, the goal of his life should be to pursue self interest, and that there is no God except human "competence" and reason.

So the question that's been on my mind is: Why are success and faith considered to be mutually exclusive? Who decided that you could not be both dedicated and pious? Rand's novel condemns the "mystics" who judge the rationalists by a philosophy that rationalism does not subscribe to, but it seems to me she commits the same fallacy in judging religion according to the tenets of rationalism.

I believe that the true answer to this question is that not only is it possible to be both rational and faithful, but that it is imperative and essential that we do so. Consider Rand's unbridled capitalist heroes-what is the purpose of their existence? They pursue their "rational self interest" and the virtue of making money, but to what end? They achieve maximum control and power over their own existences, but it serves nothing. They become like a powerful machine that has no purpose, or a spring that is kept compressed under pressure-they achieve so much greatness, but none of it goes anywhere or is used for anything. What's the point of being "the motor of the world" (as the book described them), if there's nothing left to move because they cannot conceive of a higher purpose than their own desires?

I believe-in fact, I know intuitively-that there has to be more to life than simple pursuit of our own happiness. The work and glory of God is our immortality and eternal life (Genesis 1:39), but that's only half of the equation. Throughout the ages, men of God have taught that His intention is not simply to allow us to achieve all the freedom and power that He has, but to obtain a knowledge of what we should do with that energy.

There is not a single member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or the First Presidency-men who I consider to be modern day revelators-who was unsuccessful in his professional life before being called. The current group includes: a nationally renowned heart surgeon, several former university presidents, a successful businessman, an attorney who was chief justice on the Utah Supreme Court and who was considered by Ronald Reagan for a seat on the US Supreme Court, a publisher, a nuclear physicist, and men from numerous other areas of expertise. They are some of the most knowledgeable men in their fields. This, however, has not limited their spiritual development. On the contrary, they have not sacrificed their eternal happiness for their temporal success-rather, their pursuit of temporal knowledge, far from diminishing their spiritual capacity, has only increased their spiritual knowledge. People who understand this principle become the most spiritually fulfilled people on Earth-not in spite of their quest for achievement, but because of it.

These men have obviously found that religious belief and belief in the human potential for achievement are not mutually exclusive, but are in fact two sides of the same coin. They have spent their lives aspiring to the pursuit of knowledge and success-not only in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense-and they understand that all blessings come from God, and that His gifts are not purposeless, nor are they intended only to make us rich or successful in this life only. God wants us to succeed-to act and to create are the purposes for which we were created-but not so that in the final sum, we will have unlimited wasted power which was not expended for the benefit of His children, ourselves included. The tragedy of Man in a collectivist society is that he has desires to build, create, and lift, but is robbed of the resources to do so. The tragedy of Man in a completely Objectivist society is that he attains a great degree of energy and potential which he proceeds to squander because his blind self absorption prevents him from knowing what to do with it.

We should not spend our lives either in the mindless pursuit of wealth for its own sake, nor should we fail to attain our true potential for success and happiness; rather, we should engage in building, supporting, and lifting each other and dedicating ourselves to proving our gratitude to God in the only way we can express it fully-by applying the gifts which He has given us toward the purposes which He has ordained for them; not merely our own momentary happiness or purposeless gratification, but the pursuit of immortality and eternal life of all of His children, including ourselves.