4. Faith and Vision: Can the Object of Faith Be Seen?

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Central Question #

Can the same person see and believe the same thing at the same time? More fundamentally, what does “seeing” mean when applied to faith?

The Objections from Scripture #

• Objection 1: Christ says to Thomas, “Because you see me, you believe” (John 20), suggesting vision and faith coincide
• Objection 2: Paul writes “we see now through a mirror in an enigma” (1 Corinthians 13:12), implying believers see what they believe
• Objection 3: Faith is described as “a certain spiritual light,” and light enables seeing
• Objection 4: All the senses are called “seeing” in some extended sense, and faith comes from hearing, so faith involves seeing

The Counter-Argument #

The epistle to the Hebrews defines faith as “the argumentum of things not seen” (fides est argumentum non operentia)—the conviction or argument concerning things that are not seen. This definition appears to exclude any form of seeing.

Key Arguments #

Thomas Aquinas’s Resolution #

The understanding assents to something in two ways:

1. Through its own object (moved by what is known to itself)

   • These are first principles, like “the whole is greater than the part”
   • Known without proof, naturally known to the intellect
   • These things are seen in the proper sense

2. Through the will (moved by choice, not by the object itself)

   • The understanding chooses to assent even without sufficient movement from the object
   • This can occur with doubt and fear of the opposite (= opinion or guess)
   • Or with certitude without fear (= faith)
   • In faith, the will moves the intellect to assent to what is not sufficiently moved by its own object

The Distinction: What Thomas Sees vs. What Thomas Believes #

• Thomas sees the man with wounds in his hands and side (sensible perception)
• Thomas believes that this man is God (supernatural truth not evident to the senses)
• These are different objects, so there is no contradiction
• The visible signs serve as reasons to believe, not as direct perception of what is believed

Two Ways Things of Faith Can Be Considered #

1. In particular (as in themselves)

   • In this way, they cannot be simultaneously seen and believed
   • The object cannot move the intellect sufficiently by itself

2. In general (under the common notion of “believable”)

   • In this way, believers do see something
   • They see that these things should be believed
   • This seeing occurs either through:
     • Evidence of signs (as with Thomas)
     • The inclination of the virtue of faith itself

Important Definitions #

Seeing (in faith context) #

Those things are said to be “seen” which through themselves move our understanding or sense to knowledge of themselves. For example:

• Sitting men are seen when observed
• A perfect number (equal to the sum of its divisors) is seen to be composite once we understand the definitions involved

The Light of Faith (Lumen Fidei) #

The light of faith enables believers to see that things should be believed, not to see the truth of the things themselves in their own nature. It operates analogously to moral virtues:

• A courageous man sees what should be done (to stand against danger) because courage disposes his reason
• A temperate man sees what should be restrained because temperance inclines his will rightly
• A faithful man sees what should be believed because faith gives him an inclination toward assent

Opinion vs. Faith #

• Opinion: Assent to one side of a contradiction with fear of the other side (e.g., guessing which team will win the World Series)
• Faith: Assent with certitude, without such fear, even though the object does not sufficiently move the intellect

Examples & Illustrations #

Doubting Thomas (John 20) #

• Thomas demands: “Unless I see the marks and put my finger where the nails were…”
• When he sees the risen Christ, Christ says, “Because you see me, you believe”
• Yet Thomas sees the man and believes the God—different objects
• Berquist notes the practice of saying “My Lord and my God” at the consecration imitates this act of faith

Perfect Numbers #

• Definition: A composite number equal to the sum of all its divisors
• Example: 6 is perfect (1+2+3=6), so it is composite
• A person understanding these terms doesn’t need proof that perfect numbers are composite—it is seen from the definitions

The Moral Virtues Analogy #

• Courage: The courageous man sees he should stand and fight; the coward does not see this because he lacks courage
• Temperance: The temperate man sees he should stop drinking; the intemperate does not
• Justice: Without justice, prudence cannot discern what is just in a particular case
• Faith as virtue: Without the virtue of faith, one cannot see that certain truths should be believed

The Church Shooting (Contemporary Example) #

• An usher at a church encountered an armed shooter
• He retrieved his concealed weapon from his car, confronted the shooter, and said, “Stop now or I’ll shoot you dead”
• He didn’t shoot, but his courage (virtue) enabled him to see what should be done in that moment—to face down the threat
• Those without courage would flee and thus never see the right action

Baseball and Uncertainty #

• Guessing which team will win the World Series illustrates opinion: inclination to one side with fear of the other
• No certainty is present, yet some inclination exists
• This contrasts with faith, which has certitude despite the object not being seen

Questions Addressed #

Can the same thing be both seen and believed by the same person? #

No—not regarding the same aspect of the same thing. Faith requires that what is believed is not sufficiently evident to the intellect. However:

• What one person sees, another person can believe (e.g., Christ’s divinity)
• What one person sees as a sign (the wounds), that same person can use as reason to believe something else (Christ’s divinity)

What kind of “seeing” is involved in faith? #

Faith involves seeing that things should be believed, not seeing the truth of the things in themselves. This is an inclination of the intellect given by the virtue of faith—a disposition to assent to what is proposed for belief.

How do the scriptural objections resolve? #

• Thomas saw the man and believed the divinity—different objects, no contradiction
• Paul’s “seeing through a mirror in an enigma” refers to a kind of seeing provided by faith itself—seeing that things are believable
• The “spiritual light” of faith illuminates the intellect to perceive that these things should be believed, not to see their intrinsic truth
• The extended sense of “seeing” in hearing (“seeing the reason to believe”) applies to faith—we see that we should believe, even if not seeing the thing believed

Pedagogical Notes #

Berquist emphasizes the subtlety of these distinctions:

• The contrast between “they should be believed” and “they are true in themselves”
• Faith gives an inclination, not a demonstration
• This parallels the necessity of moral virtue for prudence to function properly in action
• The light of faith is preparatory, enabling the intellect to receive what is proposed, but not making it understood as it is in itself