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Aquinas on Reasons for Our Faith: Against the Muslims, and a Reply to the Denial of Purgatory by Certain Greeks and Armenians: To the Cantor of Antioch
This is an excellent translation with notes on a writing of the Angelic doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, De rationibus fidei contra Saracenos about 1265 A.D. Muslims have to be approached with arguments solely from reason; rational arguments can only show such truths not to be contrary to reason. Supernatural truths exceed the power of reason to demonstrate.
111 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2002
7 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Aquinas
2,676 books1,177 followersPhilosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican friar and theologian of Italy and the most influential thinker of the medieval period, combined doctrine of Aristotle and elements of Neoplatonism, a system that Plotinus and his successors developed and based on that of Plato, within a context of Christian thought; his works include the
Summa contra gentiles
(1259-1264) and the
Summa theologiae
or theologica (1266-1273).
Saint Albertus Magnus taught Saint Thomas Aquinas.
People ably note this priest, sometimes styled of Aquin or Aquino, as a scholastic. The Roman Catholic tradition honors him as a "doctor of the Church."
Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that obtained for centuries. This crisis flared just as people founded universities. Thomas after early studies at Montecassino moved to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican order. At Naples too, Thomas first extended contact with the new learning. He joined the Dominican order and then went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, formed out the monastic schools on the left bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master, Thomas defended the mendicant orders and of greater historical importance countered both the interpretations of Averroës of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result, a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy, survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of work of Thomas for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource, now receiving increased recognition.
Saint Albertus Magnus taught Saint Thomas Aquinas.
People ably note this priest, sometimes styled of Aquin or Aquino, as a scholastic. The Roman Catholic tradition honors him as a "doctor of the Church."
Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that obtained for centuries. This crisis flared just as people founded universities. Thomas after early studies at Montecassino moved to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican order. At Naples too, Thomas first extended contact with the new learning. He joined the Dominican order and then went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, formed out the monastic schools on the left bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master, Thomas defended the mendicant orders and of greater historical importance countered both the interpretations of Averroës of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result, a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy, survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of work of Thomas for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource, now receiving increased recognition.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 4, 2022
Really enjoyed this and helped me to better understand certain concepts. Some of it definitely went over my small brain though so I will probably read it again at some point.
February 21, 2026
This work by St Thomas is an apology of the Catholic faith against three groups: the Muslims, the Schismatic Greeks, and the Schismatic Armenians.
On Defense of the Faith
St Thomas Aquinas says that reason cannot prove faith, since supernatural revelation is above human reasoning, and can only be known by God’s revelation, yet we are still to defend the faith against attacks, both those establishing a false system and those which say the Catholic faith is incoherent. He will refute the Muslims who, in their carnal foolishness, are unable to understand how God can have a Son without a wife, or how the immortal God could die on a cross. The Greeks and the Armenians deny that there is a purgatory after death, instead saying the souls will be awarded/punished only after the Day of Judgement.
Of the Begetting of the Son
The Son proceeds by way of intellect, for God is Spirit. Spirits do not beget as carnal men do, but rather in a spiritual manner. God understands Himself exactly, and this self-understanding is called His Word, for it is a mental concept. Yet God is simple, therefore this Word must be the very essence of God. As proceeding from God and bearing the same likeness, this Word is called a Son, analogous to how earthly fathers beget earthly sons. Now He who has a Son is a Father. Therefore God is Father, begetting the Son. But this Word differs from human words, for this Word is co-eternal with the Father; and we think by a plurality of words, but God understands Himself by a singular Word.
Of the Procession of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, proceeding by way of the will. For God loves knows His Word and loves His Word. Something which has hidden origins is termed spirit, as winds and breath. Hence this Love may be called Spirit. This Love, furthermore, is pure and not carnal, hence it may appropriately be called Holy. To love, one must conceive in act intellectually, and a concept of the intellect is a word, so this love must arise from a word. Hence, the Holy Spirit proceeds from God (the Father) and His Word (the Son).
Of the Fittingness of the Incarnation & Passion of Christ
God, having created all things by His Word, saw how humans had fallen, and it was fitting that He save them. In order to save humans from their own perversity, it was fitting the Word of God take on our nature, and thus manifest His love toward us. This way, humans who are so wrapped in what is creaturely, could be directed by a fellow human into a relationship with the Lord Almighty. And in God becoming man, man is given the hope to be able to become God (that is, partakes in the divine nature).
But God’s Incarnation must not be understood as though it destroyed the divine nature. Rather, God the Son assumed a human nature to the unity of His Person, such that everything that Christ does as man may truly be predicted of the Second Person of the Trinity. One Person, subsisting in two natures, human and divine. It is according to His human nature that we state Christ was born, died, and raised from the dead. For God, according to His divinity, cannot be born, or die, or raised from the dead.
In doing this, God’s love is manifest and justice is satisfied. For man, having sinned against the infinite God, incurred an infinite debt. But Christ, who is infinite, in dying for our sake, satisfied for this eternal debt of justice which stood against us.
Of the Sacrament of the Eucharist
The body of Christ has not ran out due to the amount of Eucharists eaten, as the Muslims mocked the Christians. Christ is neither divided nor cut in this Sacrament, but the substance of the bread and wine are changed into the substance of his body and blood. That the senses tell us otherwise is no problem, for God often teaches us under veils, and this meal is Spiritual drink and food, and it would be horrifying to some to see the human flesh and blood be eaten. “Other mysteries of this Sacrament, however, are not to be discussed further here, because the mysteries of faith should not be displayed before unbelievers [infidelibus].”
Of the Purgatory after Death
That the souls of the righteous and the wicked are judged immediately after death is proved from 2 Corinthians 5. But when the stain of venial sin, which does not merit condemnation as mortal sin, persists in the soul that has passed from this life, it must be cleansed, as is clear from Wisdom 7:25, Isaiah 35:8, and Revelation 21:27. Further, some die without completing their penances. But in accordance with justice, this must be satisfied, so there must be punishment after death. This is proved from the practice of the Church, which prays for the dead in accordance with 2 Maccabees 12, for the damned have no need of prayers, and those in Heaven have no need of prayers either, so there must be an intermediate place.
Of the Providential Ordering of Divine Wisdom
St. Thomas succinctly explains how God can foreknow all things without imposing necessity upon the acts of men, such that they lose free will. St Thomas also says that God knows, foreknows, orders, and providentially moved creation according to His plan, yet this without removing free will.
My copy of this work came with an appendix containing Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical Aeterni Patris, calling us away from modern philosophies and back to the philosophy of the Fathers, the Schoslatics, and chiefly St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor. By forsaking these, modern society has strayed from the truth into moral degeneracy and confusion over the most basic aspects of human knowledge. Let us follow St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, praying to God that He pour out the Spirit of Wisdom, by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.
On Defense of the Faith
St Thomas Aquinas says that reason cannot prove faith, since supernatural revelation is above human reasoning, and can only be known by God’s revelation, yet we are still to defend the faith against attacks, both those establishing a false system and those which say the Catholic faith is incoherent. He will refute the Muslims who, in their carnal foolishness, are unable to understand how God can have a Son without a wife, or how the immortal God could die on a cross. The Greeks and the Armenians deny that there is a purgatory after death, instead saying the souls will be awarded/punished only after the Day of Judgement.
Of the Begetting of the Son
The Son proceeds by way of intellect, for God is Spirit. Spirits do not beget as carnal men do, but rather in a spiritual manner. God understands Himself exactly, and this self-understanding is called His Word, for it is a mental concept. Yet God is simple, therefore this Word must be the very essence of God. As proceeding from God and bearing the same likeness, this Word is called a Son, analogous to how earthly fathers beget earthly sons. Now He who has a Son is a Father. Therefore God is Father, begetting the Son. But this Word differs from human words, for this Word is co-eternal with the Father; and we think by a plurality of words, but God understands Himself by a singular Word.
Of the Procession of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, proceeding by way of the will. For God loves knows His Word and loves His Word. Something which has hidden origins is termed spirit, as winds and breath. Hence this Love may be called Spirit. This Love, furthermore, is pure and not carnal, hence it may appropriately be called Holy. To love, one must conceive in act intellectually, and a concept of the intellect is a word, so this love must arise from a word. Hence, the Holy Spirit proceeds from God (the Father) and His Word (the Son).
Of the Fittingness of the Incarnation & Passion of Christ
God, having created all things by His Word, saw how humans had fallen, and it was fitting that He save them. In order to save humans from their own perversity, it was fitting the Word of God take on our nature, and thus manifest His love toward us. This way, humans who are so wrapped in what is creaturely, could be directed by a fellow human into a relationship with the Lord Almighty. And in God becoming man, man is given the hope to be able to become God (that is, partakes in the divine nature).
But God’s Incarnation must not be understood as though it destroyed the divine nature. Rather, God the Son assumed a human nature to the unity of His Person, such that everything that Christ does as man may truly be predicted of the Second Person of the Trinity. One Person, subsisting in two natures, human and divine. It is according to His human nature that we state Christ was born, died, and raised from the dead. For God, according to His divinity, cannot be born, or die, or raised from the dead.
In doing this, God’s love is manifest and justice is satisfied. For man, having sinned against the infinite God, incurred an infinite debt. But Christ, who is infinite, in dying for our sake, satisfied for this eternal debt of justice which stood against us.
Of the Sacrament of the Eucharist
The body of Christ has not ran out due to the amount of Eucharists eaten, as the Muslims mocked the Christians. Christ is neither divided nor cut in this Sacrament, but the substance of the bread and wine are changed into the substance of his body and blood. That the senses tell us otherwise is no problem, for God often teaches us under veils, and this meal is Spiritual drink and food, and it would be horrifying to some to see the human flesh and blood be eaten. “Other mysteries of this Sacrament, however, are not to be discussed further here, because the mysteries of faith should not be displayed before unbelievers [infidelibus].”
Of the Purgatory after Death
That the souls of the righteous and the wicked are judged immediately after death is proved from 2 Corinthians 5. But when the stain of venial sin, which does not merit condemnation as mortal sin, persists in the soul that has passed from this life, it must be cleansed, as is clear from Wisdom 7:25, Isaiah 35:8, and Revelation 21:27. Further, some die without completing their penances. But in accordance with justice, this must be satisfied, so there must be punishment after death. This is proved from the practice of the Church, which prays for the dead in accordance with 2 Maccabees 12, for the damned have no need of prayers, and those in Heaven have no need of prayers either, so there must be an intermediate place.
Of the Providential Ordering of Divine Wisdom
St. Thomas succinctly explains how God can foreknow all things without imposing necessity upon the acts of men, such that they lose free will. St Thomas also says that God knows, foreknows, orders, and providentially moved creation according to His plan, yet this without removing free will.
My copy of this work came with an appendix containing Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical Aeterni Patris, calling us away from modern philosophies and back to the philosophy of the Fathers, the Schoslatics, and chiefly St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor. By forsaking these, modern society has strayed from the truth into moral degeneracy and confusion over the most basic aspects of human knowledge. Let us follow St Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, praying to God that He pour out the Spirit of Wisdom, by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.
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