T{á´véy v{ó} óur Rénzzné }s R}qE dvóótr{íórv{ n{q _ryvtv}´í Mryvrs KENNETH CADENA MASONG* If reason was bestowed on us by Heaven and the same can be said of faith, then Heaven has presented us with two incompatible and contradictory suríé4 — Denis Diderot Jppuíu{z mñ§ Yqzééqé }tux{é{}tuÉñqé Introduction These words of Diderot (1713-1784) cannot but capture the tension that finally emerged in the Age of Enlightenment, where, following the course charted by the earlier centuries of Humanism, and of scientific revolution, the relation between faith and reason is thrown in a roller-coaster ride that zooms from the depths of inti- macy to the heights of antinomy. Yet, we are inheritors of a long reli- gious tradition where belief, i.e., religious belief continues to play, if not a normative, at least a significant role in the general spheres of human existence. One way or the other, we encounter, if not venues of religious epiphanies that bring us personally to faith, people who themselves have held beliefs and to which they adhered to in total fidelity, with exemplary commitment, in things that they do, or leave undone. In an age where secularism is a given, if not a perva- ding attitude, to speak of religious attitude outside of religious belief, may no longer be astounding but even imperative.' Certainly, we * The author wishes to extend gratitude to Dr. Ignace Vérhack and Mr. Matthew James Fielding for the critical comments and suggestions. • PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XXXVII, No. 110 (May – August, 2002), 249-265