Comparing Aquinas Views On Salvation Through Faith And Reason

Salvation Through Faith and Reason

The concepts of faith and reason hold opposing view points when used in the context of religion. Faith by definition is the firm belief in something for which there is no proof ("Faith," def. 3). On the contrary reason is defined as something that supports a conclusion or supports a fact ("Reason," def. 1c). Though faith centers on the abstract and reason focuses on the concrete, St. Thomas Aquinas argues that only through the union of both can salvation be obtained (Kreeft 40). Regardless of the denomination, religion requires faith from the congregation. Within any religion there are abstract concepts and ideas presented to the people that are expected to be accepted as fact though they cannot be proven. Aquinas argues that salvation depends on more than faith alone. "It is necessary for man's salvation that there be a knowledge revealed by God, besides
philosophical science built up by reason (Kreeft 40). He urges people not to rely on the tangible alone but to incorporate the unseen idea of divine revelation to save their soul. Aquinas continues by holding up the philosophical truths, "these truths about God which humans could have discovered (Kreeft 40) as one of the two pillars necessary to construct the foundation of salvation.
These are the tangible items, the items that man could find for himself through the investigation of his surroundings. The second pillar is faith through divine revelation. This personal revelation is an intangible article that cannot be proven but can be experienced by each person individually. Only through this union of faith and reason do we achieve "the sacred science learned through revelation" (Kreeft 41). After illustrating the connection between faith and reason, Aquinas supports his proposition through scripture. The scripture or "Holy Writ" is interpreted by man to have many different meanings. Aquinas asks "Whether in the Holy Scripture a word may have several senses (Kreeft 41)? Having asked the question Aquinas continues his argument for the necessity of the marriage between faith and reason citing the scripture as an
example. Aquinas explains that scripture is the word of God and therefore cannot have different meanings. The events that are depicted did happen and this is a fact that does not change. However Aquinas explains that the scripture is a theological allegory, a story used to communicate an actual event, a verbal scrapbook of events gone by. As with a scrapbook there is an event that took place that does not change. However the verbal "picture" used to describe the story may appear to have different interpretations based on the receiver of the message. The events depicted in the scripture, though they may be allegorical, still have a basis in fact. Each individual will have their own personal divine revelation. Divine revelation comes from God and therefore can have only one meaning. St. Thomas Aquinas successfully argues the necessity of faith and reason in reaching salvation. Aquinas uses an example of an astronomer and physicists. Both may come to the same conclusion that the earth is not flat. The astronomer will use mathematical proof to justify his claim while the physicist will use matter itself. This also holds true for salvation. While we must have the tactile and sensory components of salvations of which baptism would be one example, there are other articles that cannot be seen or heard such as angels, heaven or even God. There must be a marriage between faith and reason for man to reach salvation.