Thirteenth-century Christians already debated whether rational argument or faith alone could convert infidels

Evidence

Bacon’s ambition is to create a science of religion: a rational basis for Christian truth and a scientific way of understanding the different religions of the world. He affirms that the only two ways to bring in- fidels to the faith are through miracles or through human reason; since we cannot count on miracles, rational argumentation is the only real alternative. He acknowledges that Gregory the Great had affirmed that “Faith to which reason affords a proof has no merit”; this means, Bacon affirms, that Christians should accept the authority of Scripture as superior to human reason; it does not mean that one cannot use reason to bring the infidel to the faith. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1147

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s Anidjar/Aziz/Razack material on the Islam-West epistemological opposition — Bacon’s rational-conversion project is a medieval root of ‘reason vs faith’ framing versus Islam.
• QUESTION: Bacon’s distinction between Scriptural authority and rational persuasion of infidels is a nuanced position worth tracing to modern interfaith dialectic claims.