Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human person soars to the contemplation
of the truth. But flying on these two wings does not come automatically to human beings.
It is something learned gradually. And flying is not something one does solo.
It is something we do together in the Church. So let us consider again the seven principles
of harmony between faith and reason, and the research program they launch us on together.
In a previous video, we listed seven principles regarding the relationship between faith and
reason: Consistency, Support, Defense, Service, Correction, Sapiential, and Fulfillment. All of
these principles set before us a calling or task that is ours together in the Church. The
Support principle calls upon us to study, for example, arguments for the existence of God.
The Defense principle calls us to hear out objections to the faith,
and reply to them. And so on for the other principles. Taken all together,
what is set before us is a research program or course of inquiry much like those in the
natural sciences. To explain the point in more detail, let’s focus on the Consistency Principle.
The Consistency Principle is that right faith and right reason are logically consistent with
each other. Now, at first this may seem plainly false. After all, one might point to many apparent
contradictions in the Bible, or many apparent contradictions between what the Bible says
and what science says. In all honesty, the apparent contradictions or difficulties are
so many that they can seem to be an overwhelming falsification of the Gospel. But they are not.
In fact, they constitute a domain or field of extensive research and investigation into
possible resolutions of the many difficulties. And in thinking of divine revelation this way,
the situation is no different than any other subject matter.
Biologists, chemists, and astronomers also face many and various problems, anomalies,
or apparent contradictions in their respective fields. Every subject matter and every theory has
its difficulties and anomalies, and no subject matter or theory is without them altogether.
From chemical reactions to animal behavior to planetary motions, progress in scientific
research consists largely in solving anomalies or apparent contradictions. All the major discoveries
in science are traced to a problem that a scientist faced and successfully resolved.
In fact, we can say that such apparent contradictions or anomalies are a good
thing. They drive progress in understanding. That is why good teachers do not just give their
students facts to regurgitate, but problems to solve. Problems are more instructive
and it is problems that produce insight once they are resolved.
So it is in philosophy and theology as well. When we consider on the one hand Scripture
and Tradition, and on the other hand philosophy and science, what first comes to light are many
apparent contradictions or difficulties. After all, God is a good teacher. The best of teachers.
And so in the revelation of himself God gives us many apparent contradictions and difficulties
to work through. Faith and reason do not yield to doubt in the face of such difficulties,
but see in the difficulties the opportunity to learn more of God who reveals himself.
Let’s take an example. Let’s define a difficulty more sharply
as a set of truths that seem contradictory, incompatible, or in some kind of tension.
And let’s take an example from two different passages of Scripture.
The Gospel of Mark, for example, says that the two thieves crucified next to Jesus
both reviled him, but the Gospel of Luke seems to say that only one of the thieves reviled Jesus.
The Gospel of Luke tells the story of the Good Thief who asked Jesus to remember him when
Jesus came into his Kingdom. So, what gives? Did both of the thieves revile Jesus or not?
What we face here is a difficulty. It seems at first glance that both accounts cannot be true,
since they seem to contradict. We find many such apparent difficulties within Scripture.
And we also find many similar difficulties between various authorities within the
Tradition such as the Fathers of the Church. And we find more such difficulties between
the sources of revelation on the one hand and secular learning on the other. But does
this difficulty give us a reason to doubt or reject the truth of the Gospels? No.
In fact, well more than fifteen hundred years ago St. John Chrysostom already spotted this
difficulty, and found a simple resolution. The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke would
formally contradict each other if they were speaking of the exact same moment in time.
But they are not. Mark is telling us of an earlier moment on Good Friday, and Luke of a later one.
St. John Chrysostom says it must have been that at first both thieves were reviling Jesus, but later
one of them converted. And he became the Good Thief who called on Jesus to remember him in the
Kingdom. What is interesting is that neither Mark nor Luke tell us explicitly of his conversion.
It is only by facing the difficulty or apparent contradiction between the two Gospels that the
truth of his conversion on the cross comes to light, and also the many lessons his conversion
contains for us. Even in the midst of terrible suffering conversion to Christ is possible.
Just to be clear, this strategy for resolving this difficulty would not work for other and
harder difficulties. Different difficulties call for different resolution strategies, and the
approach we have used here has both its place and its limits. The main point is that the difficulty
was never a reason to doubt the truthfulness of the Gospels or the Catholic faith. Difficulties
are one thing, doubt is another. Difficulties are apparent contradictions that tease the mind into
inquiry and investigation. Doubt consists of a voluntary withholding of assent from God revealing
himself. It is possible to question the faith in faith, that is, to face the difficulties with full
confidence in the truth of divine revelation to yield an answer or resolution in due time.
That is what theology does: question the faith in faith with all confidence of receiving an answer
and with all due respect to supernatural mystery. But it is also possible to hold
back from believing in divine revelation or reject it. And that is not simply a
question or conceptual difficulty. That is a doubt. And the difficulties do not justify doubt.
One way to understand the Summa Theologiae is to say that Thomas Aquinas provides us not only a
book, but an extensive curriculum into a variety of resolutions of a multitude of difficulties in
Scripture and Tradition. And his resolutions, as well as the different ways he resolves
questions and difficulties in the faith, help us to understand some of the most fundamental
truths of all. But despite the many questions and difficulties and complexities of theology,
the point of it all remains simple. The point is to know the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ,
and to know and love him more and more and enjoy him in eternity.
For readings, podcasts, and more videos like this go to Aquinas101.com.
While you're there, be sure to sign up for one of our free video courses on Aquinas.
And don’t forget to like and share with your friends, because it matters what you think!