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Thomas Aquinas on Theology and Philosophy

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Pope Benedict in a recent address attempts to make room for faith in a world dominated by science by turning to the works of Thomas Aquinas. He finds  a clear distinction in St. Thomas between knowledge gained by reason and knowledge as a product of faith. These two approaches to knowledge are uniquely different, and appear to be isolated ways of coming to truth according to the Pope’s read of Thomas. The description appears to be similar to Stephen J. Gould’s idea of non-overlapping magisteria. Both faith and reason are important but remain within their own polemical and rhetorical boundaries. See the MetroCatholic news article here.

Coincidentally, Michael Craven comes to a similar conclusion touting the epistemic challenge postmodernism brings to rationalism (and the criticism of religion that is borne out of it). Faith and reason do no overlap and as such, one cannot criticize the “conclusions” of religion by argument and evidence.

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