Reason Vs. Faith -- comment published in Times of India

Here is my statement on Reason Vs. Faith that was published in Times of India on October the 7th.

"God has given humans the ability to think rationally and the right to express themselves freely. The right to expression is also constitutionally guaranteed in a democracy. I am for that freedom. However, freedom comes with responsibility. I cannot do whatever I want to, particularly if it infringes upon others' freedom.

When Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code was published, I argued for his freedom of speech, and so did many churches. It was not banned in Christian communities in Europe and America. However, highly qualified clergy and even secular scholars responded to his views in a scholarly way.

So, it is about understanding each other in reasonable, logical ways. There can be a healthy debate. Reason has a valid role to play in understanding and communicating faith in a friendly and respectful manner. But Fundamentalism expresses itself in emotional outbursts and if we are emotional then our reason goes down. Loudness of an argument and low levels of logic generally go hand in hand and this is not good."
Published in Hyderbad Times, Times of India, October 7, 2007, p. 1.