10. Faith, Reason, and the Necessity of Belief for Salvation

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Question: Is Faith Necessary for Salvation? #

Three Objections:

1. Objection from Nature: Since perfection of a thing comes from what belongs to it according to its nature, and faith exceeds natural reason, faith seems unnecessary
2. Objection from Certitude: Man cannot prudently assent to things he cannot judge by resolving them into first principles (principia prima/axioms); faith therefore appears dangerous
3. Objection from Natural Knowledge: Invisible things of God are understood from creation (Romans 1:20); natural knowledge suffices, making faith superfluous

Thomas’s Response: The Nature of Rational Perfection #

Dependence of Nature on Higher Nature: In all nature, two things come together for the perfection of lower nature:

• What belongs to the nature according to its own motion
• What comes according to the motion of a superior nature

Application to Rational Creatures:

• Only rational nature has immediate order to God
• Other creatures attain only particular participation in divine goodness (inanimate things by being; plants and animals by life and knowing singulars)
• Rational nature, knowing universal good and being, has immediate order to the universal beginning of all being (the First Being)
• Therefore, perfection of rational creature requires not merely natural knowledge, but supernatural participation in divine goodness

The Beatific Vision as End: The last beatitude of man consists in a supernatural vision of God (whereby we see him as he is, as St. John says). Man is led to this vision only by learning from God as Teacher (John 6:45: “Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me”).

The Structure of Learning from God #

Discursive vs. Intuitive Knowledge:

• Man becomes partaker of God’s teaching not at once, but successively and discursively, according to the mode of his nature
• Therefore, it is necessary that man believe in order to arrive at perfect knowledge
• This parallels human learning: just as a learner must believe the teacher teaching, so must man believe God as the Teacher
• Like all students of principles, the learner must believe before reaching perfect understanding

The Three Components of the Act of Faith #

Berquist offers an English clarification of Thomas’s formulation by organizing the act around three elements:

1. Believing God (Credere Deo - the formal object): God as the authority whose word cannot deceive
2. About God (Credere Deum - material object): The content of belief concerning God
3. Which is good to do (the volitional aspect): The orientation toward God as end and good

Significance of Each Element:

• First element (Believing God): Provides absolute certitude—God can neither deceive nor be deceived
• Second element (About God): Concerns the best possible object of knowledge; following Aristotle’s principle that it is better to know imperfectly a better thing than to know perfectly a lesser thing, knowledge of God surpasses even perfect mathematical knowledge
• Third element (Which is good to do): Points to the will as the mover of reason in faith; indicates that faith involves volitional commitment to the good, not merely intellectual assent

Key Arguments #

Against the Objections (Replies) #

Reply to First Objection (Reply 1):

• Since nature of man depends upon a higher nature, perfection does not suffice through natural knowledge alone
• Supernatural knowledge is required because man is made in image and likeness of God, possessing something godlike (namely reason)
• Unlike the dog and cat, human nature requires supernatural elevation

Reply to Second Objection (Reply 2):

• Just as man by natural light of understanding assents to the beginnings (principia prima), so the virtuous man through habit of virtue has right judgment about things belonging to that virtue
• Similarly, through the light of faith divinely infused, man is granted sense (sensus) of things of faith, not to their contraries
• Therefore there is nothing dangerous in faith for those in Christ Jesus illuminated through faith
• Key insight: A habit (virtue) itself provides inclination and judgment; faith is not a blind leap but a divinely-infused disposition that orients reason toward truth

Reply to Third Objection (Reply 3):

• The invisible things of God can be known in two ways: ex creaturis (from creatures) through natural reason, OR through faith
• Faith reveals matters that natural reason cannot access (e.g., the Trinity, which Aristotle did not arrive at despite knowing the perfection of the number three)
• Ecclesiasticus 3:25 confirms: “Many things above the sense of man his judgment and the bridge are shown to you”

Important Definitions #

Key Latin/Greek Terms #

• Credere Deo (to believe God): The formal object of faith—assenting to God as the authoritative source of revelation
• Credere Deum (to believe God): The material object—the content about God that is believed
• Credere in Deum (to believe into God): The volitional dimension—the will’s orientation toward God as ultimate end and good
• Principia prima (first principles/axioms): The foundational axioms to which all demonstrative knowledge must be resolved
• Ex creaturis (from creatures): Natural theological knowledge derived from created things
• Sensus (sense/judgment): The intellectual inclination or capacity granted by a virtue to judge rightly in its domain

The Three Objects of Faith (Berquist’s Clarification) #

1. Believing God: Formal cause—the authority and reliability grounding belief
2. About God: Material cause—the content and subject matter
3. Which is good to do: Final cause—the will’s orientation and end

Examples & Illustrations #

The Teacher-Student Analogy #

• Just as a student must believe the teacher in order to learn (accepting principles before demonstration), man must believe God as Teacher to arrive at perfect knowledge of divine things
• The student cannot wait for independent verification before assenting to the teacher’s word
• This illustrates that faith is not irrational but follows the structure of all rational learning

The Motion of Natural Things Under Superior Force #

• Water naturally moves toward the center by its own motion, but is moved differently according to the motion of the moon (lunar tides: secundum fluxum et refluxum)
• Similarly, planetary spheres move east to west by their own motion, but are also moved by the first sphere from east to west
• Application: Just as lower natural bodies require motion from superior natural bodies for their full activity, human nature requires motion from a superior supernatural nature (divine grace) for its perfection

Mathematical Knowledge vs. Knowledge of God #

• One might know the number of chairs in a room with great certitude through mathematics
• But this is insignificant compared to imperfect knowledge of God
• Following Aristotle: it is better to know imperfectly a better thing than to know perfectly a lesser thing
• Faith provides knowledge of the absolutely best object (God) with absolute certitude (through divine authority)

Equivocal Words and Definition #

• Berquist discusses how Shakespeare’s definition of reason uses only equivocal words (ability, discourse, universal, looking, before and after)
• Yet by understanding the ordered senses of these equivocal terms, one grasps the true definition
• Application to faith: Understanding faith requires grasping how multiple aspects (believing God, about God, which is good to do) are ordered toward one unified act

The Relation “Toward Something” (Prost) #

• Referencing Aristotle on the category of relation and Kosturik’s insight: Aristotle does not use the abstract word “relation” but the concrete “prost” (toward something)
• John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was toward God” (pros theon)
• This concrete language better captures how the Trinity is distinguished by relations, prefiguring trinitarian theology

Washington’s Virtue #

• Berquist cites Jefferson’s and Irving’s assessments of George Washington as an exemplar of the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude
• Washington’s habitual virtue became so ingrained that right action flowed from his character without conscious deliberation
• Connection to faith: Just as acquired virtue becomes second nature through habit, infused virtue of faith inclines the soul toward assent without requiring proof for each act

Notable Quotes #

“Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” — Hebrews 11:6, cited by Thomas as the solution to Article 3

“Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me.” — John 6:45, on man’s learning from God as Teacher

“For the learner to believe is necessary for the learner.” — Aristotle, Sophistic Refutations, illustrating that belief is prerequisite to learning

“Move us, God, to know and love you… help us to know and love you” — Berquist’s prayer structure illustrating the two motions: God’s motion (superior nature) and man’s motion (according to his own nature)

“The Lord is good to them that hope in him, to the soul that seeketh him.” — Lamentations 3:25, illustrating the ordering of the theological virtues (faith → hope → charity)

“His integrity was most pure. His justice, the most inflexible I have ever known.” — Thomas Jefferson on George Washington, exemplifying cardinal virtue

Questions Addressed #

Primary Question #

Q: Is faith necessary for salvation?

A: Yes, absolutely. Even for truths knowable by natural reason, faith is necessary because:

1. The rational creature has immediate order to God and requires supernatural perfection
2. Man is called to beatific vision (supernatural vision of God), not merely natural knowledge
3. This supernatural end requires learning from God as Teacher, which presupposes faith as prerequisite to perfect knowledge (just as a student must believe the teacher)
4. The perfection of rational nature, unlike lower creatures, exceeds what natural powers alone can achieve

Structural Questions #

Q: What are the three components of the act of faith?

A:

• Believing God (formal object—divine authority)
• About God (material object—the content)
• Which is good to do (volitional aspect—orientation to God as end)

These are not three separate acts but three inseparable aspects of one unified act of faith.

Q: How does faith relate to certitude if it lacks rational demonstration?

A: Faith provides certitude through a different mode than natural knowledge:

• Not through resolution into first principles, but through divine authority (God cannot deceive)
• Through an infused virtue that grants sensus (intellectual sense/inclination) toward divine truths
• Just as acquired virtue grants the prudent man judgment about virtuous action, infused faith grants the believer judgment about revealed truths