Thomas Aquinas: Forefather of Faith and Reason

Any faith image of Jesus of Nazareth in narrative language is the product of personal experience and historical tradition. This was no less true for the great thinkers and theologians who came before us. I find it interesting that there is a post-modern, contemporary drive to find a rational and realistic consensus of religious explanation today which is similar to the motivation which inspired Thomas Aquinas to write the "Summa Theologiae" to help define the Word of God and the key image of Jesus as "incarnate word" to an audience of students and fellow theologians.

Thomas Aquinas was a large, rather introverted man. His fellow academics referred to him as "the ox" and there is some historical reference to his having had divine revelations. In "Summa Theologiae" he does not relay simple accounts or stories like the Bible. Aquinas uses logical discourse or argumentation akin to that of Platonic dialogues which are designed to represent a connected succession of questions and answers and illuminations on the word of God and the spirit. He believed that "in everything known by the human intellect order reigns", therefore, it simply stood to reason that Aquinas used this kind of question and answer methodology in his theological approach.

It is interesting that Aquinas, particularly in the "Tertia Pars" section focuses on the characterization or features of Jesus of Nazareth, for example, why was Jesus without sin? rather than upon any plot or setting, such as the Bible stories would do. He uses different types of conceptual language, specifically philosophical and scientific, which were difficult forms of narrative for his peers to comprehend. A Franciscan master in Paris, John Peckham, criticized Thomas Aquinas' work as "wordy quarrels" and they took exception with his rationalist method since faith was supported by intellect - which was considered an act of the will. Of course, modern theologians embrace this kind of connection between faith and reason today as two paths to the same truth of God.

The "Summa Theologiae" was written originally as instruction by Aquinas to Dominican school students in Rome around 1265. He uses the conceptual language of symbol and metaphor. A symbol is a visible sign of something invisible; for example, the cross for salvation. The incarnate word is a metaphor or a figure of speech in which one kind of object or idea is used in place of another by way of likeness or analogy. Jesus is the incarnate word of God. We say God is good (or has this characteristic) based upon our experience of goodness and perfection.

The focus of Thomas Aquinas' writing was always on the humanity of Jesus in order to connect heaven and earth. He was an optimist regarding mankind and believed that truth could be reached by a rational process of explanation - if only we were rational enough - as the famous theologian G. K. Chesterton pointed out. "Something led Aquinas to exaggerate the extent to which all men would ultimately listen to reason."

Aquinas' writing style and diction are fairly dull, but he is convincing because his arguments are not necessarily based on only documents of faith but on the reasons and statements of philosophers themselves. It is always best to prove someone wrong by using their own logic and principles against them with clarity and courtesy and Aquinas does this over several volumes.

The complexity of his text and the theological and philosophical system of interpreting faith do affect the reception of the message implied in his body of work. The most important goal for any theologian is to bring about the possibility of conversion and to do so by utilizing entirely practical qualities in one's method of writing and form of religious apologetics. Aquinas uses a logical method of deductive reasoning throughout his texts and is the major reason why so many theologians appreciate and refer to his work today.

Texts Cited
Chesterton, G. K. "St Thomas Aquinas" NY Doubleday 1956
O'Meara, Thomas F. "Thomas Aquinas Theologian" Notre Dame Press, 1997
Walsh, Liam G. introduction to "Summa Theologiae" 49, "The Grace of Christ" (3a 7-15) Blackfriars ed. 1974