Thursdays are T-days

T for Thomas
Thomas as in "of Aquinas"
Read: Scholastic medieval theologian who wrote way too much and literally put the "systematic" in Systematic Theology.
Are you hooked?

I sure wasn't at the beginning of the semester and even now I'm quick to say that Thomas Aquinas is NOT the reason I went into Systematic Theology. However, now that I know an inkling about Thomist studies, I find SOME of it interesting--most particularly, the various schools of thought that try to understand his Trinitarian Theology, it's place in his work and its influence on the rest of theology to come after him. This coming week up until Christmas I will be working hard to try to improve, augment and adapt the position paper I presented in seminar on his doctrine of the persons of God so that at the end of the day, I will have a final paper to turn in come January 12th.

Conversations in my Thomas seminar can be quite stimulating. We've had one particular debate about Thomas' method and starting point going on all semester. Every week, the same debate gets slightly tweeked to better fit into that week's readings. Last Thursday the idea in question was this:
1.) Whether it is on the basis of faith that Thomas knows that natural reason can provide us with a knowledge of the common essence of the Triune God.

Now, it seems clear enough from what Thomas himself says that this is indeed what Thomas believes himself to be doing. The question some in the class are after, though, is whether this is legitimate. Can natural reason provide us with a picture of God that is in line with God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ, witnessed to in Scripture? Or will such a starting point create a metaphysical picture of who God is and what God can and cannot do that will inevitably "box God in" and ultimately not be the God revealed in Jesus Christ? This is what is up for debate.

I could go on, but I just realized that this is probably boring you and/or confusing you and you are wondering why you ever took the time to stop by my blog and take a peek. Well, consider this my exercise this month in putting the theology back into "Tea and Theology." Now, go drink some tea and forget about it! ;-)