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"Thomas told me to do so": Another Young Protestant Crosses the Tiber

By Filings on Thu, 04/16/26
Bible, Theology & Philosophy
Thomas Aquinas
Thomism
Theology Proper
Attributes of God

“many evangelicals do not have the faintest clue what Thomas wrote or taught, and Thomas’s views are in actuality markedly different than those of many born-again believers. Most of us believe that when Scripture teaches us that God is merciful, then we may understand God as such.” - Owen Strachan

Discussion

Profile picture for user Bert Perry
Bert Perry

NewStep 1

Fri, 04/17/26

...appears to be to downgrade Sola Scriptura. Once you've decided that Scripture doesn't have the final say, then the Magisterium--here in the form of Aquinas--comes in. The Tiber-crosser is there in a dangerous position, however, because I don't believe that Catholicism consistently holds to Aquinas' doctrines, and official doctrine is that Scripture is authoritative. So the new Catholic will quickly find himself less than Catholic, I think.

For my part, on a slightly different tack, a huge difficulty I'd have with Catholicism is the Pope, in particular the current Pope. Now granted, he wasn't claiming to be speaking ex cathedra (with infallibility), but it's still a rough spot for someone who's trying to reconcile, for example, the Biblical examples of God's martial heroes (Abraham, David, etc..) with the notion that God doesn't hear prayers of those who engage in war. We can, more or less, have the notion of a hierarchy that speaks with the authority of God's Word, or we can have God's Word, but not both.

And with that, I'm at the point of "when we try to improve on things, we generally end up making it worse". I love Rome, but I don't see myself crossing the Tiber any time soon.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

Related . . .

Topics: Thomas Aquinas, Historical Theology, Christian Thinkers
  • What Can Protestants Learn From Thomas Aquinas?
  • Podcast Throwback: Thomas Aquinas: Friend or Foe? Michael Allen and Matthew Barrett
  • Doubting Thomas: Why the Evangelical Crush on Aquinas Needs to Mature
  • Just War 101: Why The Big Ox Matters
  • Wait, You’re Not Deconstructing?

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