109. Order of Teaching and Learning in Theology

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Principle of Order in Teaching #

• Thomas emphasizes that things must be taught according to the ordo doctrinae (order of teaching) or ordo disciplinae (order of learning)
• Teacher and learner may be different persons, but the order should be the same: teach in the order students can learn
• This principle runs throughout the entire Summa, not merely isolated sections
• Augustine’s De Trinitate proceeds less systematically than Thomas, suggesting Thomas improved upon Augustine’s approach by better ordering material

The Hierarchy of Divine Consideration #

Thomas establishes a necessary sequence:

1. Existence of God - foundational; if God doesn’t exist, all theology collapses
2. Substance of God - including simplicity, perfection, infinity, immutability, unity
3. Operations of God - understanding and willing
4. Trinity of Persons - presupposes understanding of operations
5. Incarnation - presupposes understanding of Trinity

Ordering of Divine Substance: Necessary vs. Variable #

Consistently Maintained Across All Works:

• Simplicity before Perfection - appears in Summa Theologiae, Summa Contra Gentiles, and Compendium of Theology
• Rationale: Ancient natural philosophers (Thales, Anaximenes, Heraclitus) sought the simplest principles; modern science follows the same principle
• Humans intuitively associate the beginning/principle of things with simplicity

Variable Orderings:

• Unchangeableness and Eternity: In Summa Contra Gentiles and Compendium, placed before simplicity; in Summa Theologiae, placed after perfection and infinity
  • Reason for earlier placement: The argument from motion (first of five proofs for God’s existence) most naturally leads to understanding God as unmoved mover; this naturally connects to unchangeableness and eternity
  • Natural to develop immovability and eternity extensively before other attributes
• Infinity: In Summa Contra Gentiles, placed last after simplicity and unity
  • Reason: After establishing God is simple (not infinite in the sense of divisible quantity) and one (not infinite in sense of multitude), infinity can be properly understood as perfection without limit, not as quantitative infinity

Berquist’s Thesis: Variation in ordering among the three, four, or five remaining attributes does not mean one ordering is correct and another wrong; rather, different orderings bring out different aspects and connections. Something shown in one order may not be shown in the other.

Application to the Trinity: Three-Step Progression #

Thomas explicitly states in Summa Theologiae question 28 that regarding the Trinity:

1. First: Consider processio (processions/origins) - how one person originates from another
2. Second: Consider relatio (relations of origin) - the relations constituted by these processions (Father-Son, etc.)
3. Third: Consider personae (persons) - the subsisting relations themselves

Reason: Persons are distinguished by relations of origin; relations are understood from processions; therefore, understanding processions is logically prior.

Examples of Order in Sacred Texts #

The Our Father (Division into Seven Petitions)

• Two-fold division (Good vs. Bad): First four petitions concern the good; last three concern avoiding evil
• Two-fold division of first four (End vs. Means):
  • End: “Hallowed be thy name” (God’s end), “Thy kingdom come” (our end)
  • Means: “Thy will be done” (chief means), “Give us this day our daily bread” (help/sustenance)
• Two-fold division (Augustine): First three fulfilled only in next life (God’s name hallowed, kingdom come, will done); last four concern this life (daily bread, forgiveness of trespasses, deliverance from temptation)
  • The phrase “on earth as it is in heaven” characterizes all first three
  • Anecdote: Berquist’s childhood memory of priest leading first three petitions while congregation joined at “Give us this day”
• Three-fold division (Thomas): Petitions about the end, petitions about means to end, petitions about impediments to end (removing obstacles)
• Temporal structure: “Give us this day” (present), “forgive us our trespasses” (past), “lead us not into temptation” (future)

The Sacraments (Seven Total)

• Two-fold division: First five (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction) ordered to good of soul; last two (Orders, Matrimony) ordered to community/common good
• Further division: The five then divide into three and two

Christ’s Preparation of Apostles (John 13-17)

• Three parts:
  1. Example (Ch. 13) - Christ washes apostles’ feet
  2. Instruction (Ch. 14-16) - Christ teaches by words
  3. Prayer (Ch. 17) - Christ prays for them
• Application to fatherhood/leadership: Must give good example, instruct by word, and pray for fruit to bear in others
• Support from Aristotle: “Three is the first number about which we say ‘all’” - suggesting completeness

Prayer of Christ (John 17 - Three Prayers)

• First: Prayer for himself (though needs none)
• Second: Prayer for apostles
• Third: Prayer for all believers through apostles
• Structure reflects priority: Concern first for own salvation, then for those near you (friends, relatives, close contacts), then derivative concern for Church/world
• Within each prayer: Divisions into two parts
  • Prayer for apostles: (1) Protection from world’s corruption; (2) Fullness in apostolic mission
  • Prayer for believers: (1) Unity; (2) Eternal life

Comparison to Our Father: The Our Father prays for good then bad; prayer for apostles prays for bad (protection from corruption) then good (fullness). This reflects different ordo:

• Ordo intentionis (order of intention): What you’re aiming at; leads to praying good-then-bad (the Our Father)
• Ordo executionis (order of execution): What you must do first to accomplish it; leads to praying bad-then-good (prayer for apostles)
• Scripture sometimes says “Do good and avoid evil”; other times “Turn from evil and do good” - reflecting these two orders

Psalms Division

• First 50: Psalms of penance (removing obstacles) - Psalm 50 cited by Teresa of Avila
• 51-100: Psalms of good action (pursuing the good)
• Last Psalms: Rest in God, God’s kingdom
• Connection to Our Father: Three divisions correspond to three-fold division of Our Father petitions, but in reverse order
• Reason: The Psalms are extended meditation reflecting ordo executionis (must remove evil first), while Our Father, being concise, follows ordo intentionis (state what you aim at)

Psalm 127 Example: “Unless the Lord build the house, the neighbors in vain will build it; unless the Lord guard the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil” - follows order of Our Father (good first, then protection from bad)

The Role of Categories in Understanding Trinity #

The Problem of “One Thing” vs. “Three Things”

• The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Are they one thing or three things?
• Resolution requires understanding that the word “thing” (res) has multiple meanings
• In one sense (substance): One thing (one God, one divine nature, consubstantial)
• In another sense (relation): Three things (three subsisting relations)
• No contradiction because “thing” is equivocal, not univocal

Illustration:

• Man and dog = two things (different substances)
• Man and shape of man = not “two things” in same sense; shape is an accident, not a thing in the way substance is a thing
• Nose and ear = two things (parts of substance) vs. nose and shape of nose = different meanings of “thing”
• God has no accidents, but has subsisting relations; therefore, one substance but three persons (subsisting relations)

Aristotle’s Categories: The categories distinguish substance from relation, helping clarify how persons can be really distinct while substance is one. Augustine knew only this one Aristotelian work and used its terminology (ad aliquid for relation = Greek πρός τι, “towards something”).

Key Arguments #

Why the Order of Teaching Matters #

• Pedagogical: Students learn best when concepts build progressively
• Theological: Order should reflect the order of being and causality
• Practical: Proper ordering prevents unnecessary confusion and fruitless disputes
• Thomas’s explicit concern: Beginners are impeded by (1) multiplying useless questions and arguments, and (2) not treating necessary things according to ordo disciplinae

Determining Necessary vs. Variable Order #

• Necessary: Simplicity before perfection (consistently maintained)
• Necessary: Understanding before willing (consistently maintained across all works)
• Necessary: Existence before substance before operations before Trinity before Incarnation (foundational hierarchy)
• Variable: The ordering of infinity, immutability, and eternity admits pedagogical variation without error

Why Motion Comes First Among Proofs for God’s Existence #

• Motion is most known to us (per Shakespeare: “Things in motion sooner catch the eye than what not stirs”)
• Unmoved mover naturally follows from understanding motion
• Efficient cause naturally follows from mover/maker (Aristotle reduces them to third kind of cause)
• The other arguments follow in a natural order

Important Definitions #

• Ordo doctrinae (ordo doctrinae): The order of teaching; how a teacher should present material
• Ordo disciplinae (ordo disciplinae): The order of learning; how a student can best learn; should be the same as order of teaching
• Ordo intentionis (ordo intentionis): Order of intention; reflects what one is aiming at (the end)
• Ordo executionis (ordo executionis): Order of execution; reflects the sequence needed to accomplish something (means first)

Examples & Illustrations #

Childhood Liturgical Observation: At Mass, priest led first three petitions of Our Father; congregation joined at “Give us this day.” This division follows Augustine’s two-fold ordering: first three (heaven-directed) led by priest (representative of transcendent); last four (this-life concerns) prayed by laity.

Modern Scientific Principle: Scientists seek the simplest principle (proton, electron, neutron before atoms; atoms before molecules), justifying Thomas’s ordering of simplicity before perfection.

Shakespeare Quote: “Things in motion sooner catch the eye than what not stirs” - justifies beginning with argument from motion

Hitler Anecdote: Hitler worried about his potbelly destroying his image, showing people worry about their shape as something distinct from themselves (accident vs. substance).

Charles Deaconate Reference: Molière’s play where character discovers he’s been speaking prose his whole life - people know distinctions without knowing the terminology

Notable Quotes #

“The order of teaching ought to be the order of learning.” - Thomas (principle throughout Summa)

“If God doesn’t exist, the whole of theology is removed.” - Thomas (justifying existence before substance)

“God the Father said it all in one word. No wonder when that word became a man, he spoke in words so few and said so much.” - Berquist (from Shakespeare, illustrating why understanding God’s single understanding is necessary for understanding the Son)

“Three is the first number about which we say ‘all.’” - Aristotle (justifying completeness of three-fold divisions)

“Unless the Lord build the house, the neighbors in vain will build it.” - Psalm 127 (illustrating order of intention: good first, then protection from bad)

“Do good and avoid evil” vs. “Turn from evil and do good” - Scripture reflects different orders (intention vs. execution)

Questions Addressed #

Is there a strict “before and after” in the order of teaching? #

• Answer: There is genuine priority for some orderings (existence before substance; substance before operations; operations before Trinity)
• Nuance: At more specific levels (arranging the five attributes of God’s substance), some variation is permissible while still serving pedagogical purposes
• Key principle: One must be “very hesitant” to violate orderings consistently maintained across multiple works (like understanding before willing, simplicity before perfection)

Can the same content be ordered multiple ways? #

• Answer: Yes, at certain levels, but each ordering brings out different aspects
• Example: The attributes of God’s substance can be ordered in ways that emphasize different logical connections without either being incorrect
• Criterion: An ordering is justified if it reveals some pedagogical or logical connection; it becomes problematic if it obscures necessary prerequisites

Why divide the Our Father into two vs. three? #

• Into two: By opposing contraries (good vs. bad)
• Into three: By means-end structure (end for God, end for us, means, obstacles) or temporal structure (present, past, future)
• Answer: Both divisions are valid and reveal different aspects; the text admits multiple valid orderings

Connections to Prior Lectures #

• Presupposes understanding of God’s simplicity, perfection, immutability
• Builds on discussion of God’s understanding and willing
• Connects to divisions of the Our Father and sacraments explored in previous contexts
• Relates to Aristotelian categories and the distinction of substance from accident