Answer by George Townshend, Hand of the Cause (sometime Cannon of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland):
Yes. Isaiah shows that God Himself wishes man to reason with Him. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord ..." (Isa. 1:18)
Peter, too, wrote ". . .be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you . . .” ( I Pet. 3:15)
Paul likewise wrote, "Prove all things: hold fast that which is good." (I Thess. 5:21) He acted accordingly himself when "...he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." (Acts 18:4), and again when he "...three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." (Acts 17:2)
Jesus Christ taught men to use reason to support faith when He said, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field , which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matt. 6:30) (Also see Luke 12:27)
- George Townshend ('Questions About the Second Coming Asked by Baha'is of Kampala, Uganda, Africa: Answers by George Townshend'; Wilmette Baha'i Publishing Committee, 1953)