10. Sacred Doctrine's Method: Argumentation and Metaphor
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Article 8: Whether Sacred Doctrine is Argumentative #
The Problem #
- Objection from Ambrose: “Take away arguments, where faith is sought” - faith and reasoning seem incompatible
- Objection from Gregory: “Faith has no merit if human reason gives experience” - if reason proves faith, faith loses its merit
- The Either-Or: Sacred doctrine either argues from authority (which appears weak) or from reason (which seems contrary to faith’s nature)
Aquinas’s Resolution #
Sacred doctrine IS argumentative, but with a crucial distinction:
- It does NOT argue to prove its principles (the articles of faith)
- It DOES argue from its principles to demonstrate other conclusions
Analogy to Philosophy: Just as geometry does not prove “a whole is greater than a part” but uses this as a starting point to reason about other things, sacred doctrine takes revealed truths as its foundation.
Three Ways Sacred Doctrine is Argumentative #
Reasoning from Articles of Faith to Conclusions: e.g., St. Paul argues from Christ’s resurrection (article of faith) to the resurrection of the faithful (1 Corinthians 15:12-14)
Arguing from Scripture Against Heretics: When heretics deny one article, one can cite scriptural passages they accept to show contradiction with their denial of another article
Solving Objections: When opponents argue something is impossible (e.g., the Trinity), sacred doctrine shows these objections have defects—it does NOT attempt to prove the thing is possible by reason alone
Authority in Sacred Doctrine #
Against the Objection: Authority IS most proper (maxime proprium) to sacred doctrine
- Authority from human reason is weak (Boethius: “most infirm”/infirmissima)
- But authority from divine revelation is most efficacious (efficacissima) because God can neither deceive nor be deceived
- Using philosophical authorities: Sacred doctrine employs philosophers’ arguments when they arrive at truth through natural reason, but treats these as extraneous (external) and probable arguments
- Canonical Scripture is treated as properly demonstrative; other doctors of the Church (like Augustine) are cited with more probability; philosophers are cited as probable arguments
Key Principle: “Grace does not take away nature, but perfects it”—natural reason serves faith as a handmaid, not as master. As St. Paul says (2 Corinthians 10:5): “putting into captivity every intellect in the service of Christ”
Article 9: Whether Sacred Scripture Should Use Metaphors #
The Problem #
Apparent Absurdity: How can the highest science proceed in the way the lowest science (poetry) does?
- Poetry uses metaphors for representation and delight
- Sacred doctrine should manifest truth clearly, not obscure it with likenesses
- Furthermore, Scripture uses lowly creatures as metaphors (“the Lord is a rock”) rather than noble ones closer to God’s nature
Aquinas’s Resolution #
Metaphors are not only suitable but necessary for sacred doctrine.
Two Primary Reasons:
Natural to Human Knowledge: All human knowledge originates from the senses. It is fitting that spiritual and divine things be proposed under likenesses of bodily things, leading us from sensible to intelligible realities.
Proportioned to All People: Scripture addresses both the wise and the foolish (Romans 1:14). Metaphors make spiritual truths accessible even to those unable to grasp purely intelligible things in themselves.
Why Lowly Metaphors? #
Using lowly creatures (rock, stone) rather than noble ones (sun, angel) actually serves sacred doctrine better:
- It makes clear that divine things are NOT being spoken of literally
- It frees the mind from error by preventing literal interpretation
- It gives a truer estimate of God’s transcendence (all creatures, noble and lowly, fall infinitely short)
Poetry vs. Sacred Doctrine #
Poetry uses metaphors for representation and delight—to elevate lowly things and give them more meaning than they possess (e.g., Homer elevating a pirate raid into the Trojan War).
Sacred Doctrine uses metaphors from necessity and utility—to accommodate divine truth to human nature by bringing down what is above our mind.
Additional Purposes of Metaphorical Language #
From the replies to objections:
- Exercise of the Studious: Metaphors invite learned readers to seek deeper meanings beneath the surface
- Protection from the Unworthy: “Do not give what is holy to the dogs” (Matthew 7:6)—obscurity protects sacred truths from mockery
- Preservation of Truth: The ray of divine revelation is not destroyed by sensible figures but remains in its truth; minds elevated to true knowledge can understand what is hidden in metaphor
- Complementary Expression: What is hidden in metaphor in one place is expressed openly elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., the Trinity or mysteries are both symbolically treated and explicitly taught)
Dionysius on Veiling #
Dionysius the Areopagite (from Celestial Hierarchy): “It is impossible for us, otherwise, to shine the divine rays, unless it be circumvelatum [veiled around] by variety of sacred veils.”
The divine light is not obscured but protected and accommodated through sensible veils that correspond to human nature.
Key Distinctions #
Argumentation: Direction Matters #
- Arguing to the beginning/principle: Proving the principle itself
- Arguing from the beginning/principle: Using the principle as a foundation to reach conclusions
- Sacred doctrine does the latter, not the former
- This preserves the “merit of faith” because faith’s principles rest on divine authority, not rational proof
Metaphor: Purpose Distinguishes Uses #
- Poetic metaphor: Elevates and gives added meaning to lower things (representation for delight)
- Theological metaphor: Accommodates divine truth to human nature through sensible likenesses (necessity and utility)
The Artfulness of Scripture #
Thomas considers artificialitas (artfulness) of sacred Scripture: following Aristotle’s principle that “an art must adapt itself to its matter,” sacred Scripture proceeds artfully through multiple modes:
- Narrativus (narrative): Many books narrate events
- Orativus et laudativus (prayerful and praising): The Psalms
- Revelatorius (revelatory): The Prophets
- Imperativus (commanding): Precepts
- Minativus (threatening): Threats
- Argumentativus (argumentative): Some epistles, especially St. Paul; the Book of Job (defending faith against objections)
Different books employ different modes suited to their subject matter. Article 8 emphasizes the argumentative mode because it is the primary mode of the Summa Theologiae itself, but it is not the only way Scripture proceeds.
Important Definitions #
Argumentative (argumentativus): Proceeding through logical reasoning. Sacred doctrine is argumentative because it draws conclusions from its revealed principles.
Metaphor (metaphora): A figure of speech expressing one thing as if it were another, based on likeness. “The Lord is a rock” means God is our support and strength.
Sensible/Intelligible: Human knowledge progresses from sensible things (knowable through the senses) to intelligible things (knowable through the intellect). Metaphors bridge this gap.
Authority (auctoritas): In sacred doctrine, referring to principles accepted on the basis of divine revelation. Such authority is efficacious (most powerful) because God cannot deceive.
Probability (probabilis): Arguments drawn from philosophical sources that are persuasive but not demonstrative. These support but do not prove articles of faith.
Circumvelatum: Veiled around, surrounded by veils. Dionysius’s term for how divine truth is enclosed in sensible forms.
Examples & Illustrations #
On Argumentation #
St. Paul’s Argument (1 Corinthians 15:12-14): Paul argues from the resurrection of Christ (accepted as an article of faith) to prove the resurrection of the faithful. This is argumentative but not meant to prove the article of faith itself.
Christ’s Argument Against the Sadducees (Matthew 22:29-32): When asked about resurrection, Christ appeals to Scripture they accept (“I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”) to refute their denial of resurrection itself.
Solving Objections: In the Summa Contra Gentiles, Book IV, Thomas argues from Scripture against heretics, shows from articles of faith that denial of one contradicts another, but when addressing purely philosophical objections to (e.g., “the Trinity is logically impossible”), he shows these objections have defects rather than proving the Trinity is possible by reason.
On Metaphors #
“The Lord is a rock”: Signifies God as strength and support. The lowliness of the creature (rock) makes manifest that this is metaphorical, not literal.
“God is fire”: Church Fathers interpret fire as divine nature (light = knowledge, warmth = love proceeding from God), or as Trinity (light and heat proceed from fire as Son and Spirit proceed from Father).
The Burning Bush (Exodus 3): Church Fathers see the fire as the divine nature of Christ and the bush as human nature. The bush not being consumed represents human nature not being destroyed by union with divinity.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life”: Can be understood as Christ as king (the way/commandments), prophet (truth/teaching), and priest (life/eternal life); or more profoundly, Christ as man (the way to God) and as God (truth and life itself).
St. Patrick and the Trinity: According to tradition, when teaching the Irishmen about the Trinity, Patrick used a shamrock to illustrate “three in one,” showing how even a rustic could grasp a divine mystery through a sensible likeness.
Notable Quotes #
“As the other sciences do not argue to proving their principles… but from their beginnings they reason to showing other things… So also this teaching does not argue to proving its own beginnings, which are the articles of faith, but from them it proceeds to showing something else.” — Thomas Aquinas
“It is suitable for sacred Scripture to consider divine and spiritual things under the likeness of bodily things. For God provides for all according as it is fitting to their nature. But it is natural to man that he come through sensible things to understandable things.” — Thomas Aquinas
“The ray of divine revelation is not destroyed on account of the sensible figures by which it is veiled around… but it remains in its truth. So that the minds to which the revelation is made does not permit to remain in the likenesses, but it elevates them to a knowledge of the understandables.” — Thomas Aquinas
“It is impossible for us, otherwise, to shine the divine rays, unless it be circumvelatum by variety of sacred veils.” — Dionysius the Areopagite
“One is in debt to both the wise and to the foolish” (Romans 1:14)—therefore spiritual things must be proposed under the likeness of bodily things so that even the rustics might grasp them. — Thomas Aquinas
Questions Addressed #
Q: Is Sacred Doctrine Argumentative? A: Yes, but in a specific way. It argues from its principles (revealed truths) to conclusions, not to prove its principles themselves. This is analogous to how geometry uses axioms as starting points.
Q: Does Using Argumentation Undermine Faith’s Merit? A: No. Sacred doctrine argues to manifest other truths that follow from faith, not to prove faith itself. Faith’s principles remain accepted on divine authority, preserving the merit of faith.
Q: Is Authority a Weak Form of Argument? A: Authority grounded in human reason is weak (Boethius). But authority grounded in divine revelation is most efficacious because God can neither deceive nor be deceived.
Q: Why Does the Highest Science Use Metaphors Like Poetry Does? A: Poetry uses metaphors for representation and delight (elevating low things). Sacred doctrine uses them from necessity and utility (accommodating divine truth to human nature, which learns through the senses). The purpose differs even though the form is similar.
Q: Why Use Lowly Metaphors Rather Than Noble Ones for God? A: Because lowly metaphors make it manifest that divine things are not being spoken of literally, thus freeing the mind from error. They also give a truer sense of God’s infinite transcendence over all creatures.
Q: How Can Sacred Doctrine Have Multiple Ways of Proceeding Without Confusion? A: Different books employ different modes suited to their subject. The Book of Job is argumentative (defending faith); the Psalms are prayerful and praising; the Prophets are revelatory. The Summa emphasizes the argumentative mode because that is its chosen method of proceeding.