The reasons why knowledge requires belief are as follows. First, human reason knows what something is only if it presupposes a belief that trusts reason's cognitive capacity and its ability to grasp terms. Without this fundamental belief, no knowledge can be established. Second, academic pursuits primarily stem from insights gained through experience or experimentation. However, the scope of our experience is limited, and we cannot conclude that things will always remain the same simply because past observations have shown this.
For example, we learn the 'law of gravity' through countless experiences in which we see an object fall downward when released. However, strictly speaking, humans cannot prove with 100% certainty that objects will necessarily fall in the same way across all spacetimes of the past, present, and future. Nevertheless, we believe in the universality of gravity. This demonstrates that even the scientific knowledge we think we 'know' is based on a 'fundamental belief in the consistency of nature,' which holds that the order of the world will remain unchanged.
Third, no scholar starts their field from scratch but relies on the information of their fellow scholars. This is possible only on the foundation of trust. The development of medicine and science is based not only on the experimental spirit of reason but also on the cooperation and trust between teachers and students, and between previous and current generations.
Fourth, knowledge is directed toward the understanding of reality and seeks the ultimate source of existence, which is the cause of causes and transcends individual reality. This ultimate source cannot be experienced empirically and requires only personal interest based on trust.
Worldviews and religious views differ depending on what this ultimate source is called and how it is treated. If one objectively calls this inexpressible reality 'Nothingness,' 'First Cause,' or 'Ultimate Reality,' and stops there, one becomes a philosopher or intellectual lingering before the mystery of existence. However, one who calls this reality 'God' or 'Lord,' acknowledges the limitations of human knowledge, and enters into the mystery of this God with faith, becomes a theologian or a person of faith obtains something greater than what knowledge can offer.
Ultimately, when the human pursuit of knowledge and existence reaches its final zenith, one encounters personal responses and trust that transcend mere proof. This is a realm that demands not mere theoretical agreement, but a personal commitment involving one's entire being. Saint Teresa of Carmel (Saint Teresa of Jesus) and Saint John of the Cross demonstrated great faith at this very point. Passing through the desperate self-emptying known as the night of the senses and the night of the spirit, they met God, the ultimate source of existence, personally with great faith. Their lives and experiences prove that faith beginning at the end of knowledge is by no means a vain obsession, but the surest path to reaching reality