Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Politics and Religion
The Lutheran Aquinas

The Lutheran Aquinas

Last updated on: July 10, 2020 at 8:26 pm by Gene Veith

0 Comments

The Lutheran Aquinas 2020-07-10T20:26:45-04:00 Gene Veith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We Lutherans have problems with the scholastic theologians of the Middle Ages, the greatest of whom was St. Thomas Aquinas. Though he had some good things to say–he has a writing featured in the Treasury of Daily Prayer–he is too Aristotelian and too rationalistic, qualities that led him away from Biblical truth.

And yet, I have to say that Aquinas and his method are quite impressive. In his Summa Theologica, Aquinas breaks down just about every theological concept and analyzes it with exhaustive logical rigor. Consider, for example, his treatment of the existence of God. He first gives the “Objections” to whatever he is affirming, in this case the existence of God (that is, in this case, the reasons for thinking God does not exist). He then states his position (“On the contrary. . .”), gives logical support for that position (“I answer that. . .”), and then answers each of the objections, showing why each of them is invalid.

Each article thus includes a debate, just as scholastic education in the universities was organized around “disputations.” Both sides of each question are presented. In our “sport” of debate, participants learn to argue both sides of any question, which is a good way of learning about logic and argumentation. But Aquinas takes the next step, which we sometimes neglect, of weighing the contending arguments and coming out on the other side with a definite conclusion. Aquinas employs “reason” to a far greater extent than the Enlightenment thinkers of the “Age of Reason” ever did. (The difference is that Aquinas also saw the necessity of revelation. We can know by reason that God exists, he said, but we can know very little about Him and His disposition to us, unless He reveals Himself to us. The Enlightenment thinkers, in a reductionistic parody of the Reformation solas, wanted to reduce everything to reason alone.)

Anyway, I have wished there could be a Protestant Aquinas, someone who uses something like his rigorous, systematic method in the service of a more Biblical theology. Well, I didn’t know at the time about the Lutheran scholastics of the 16th and 17th centuries, the greatest of whom was Johann Gerhard (1582-1637).

Concordia Publishing House has been publishing English translations of Gerhard’s Theological Commonplaces and other writings, a project, under the general editorship of Benjamin Mayes, that when finished will consist of 18 volumes!

He proceeds by giving his “thesis” (what he believes and will argue for), followed by the “antithesis” (the arguments against it, along with his response). He then raises “questions” (questions that arise about the concept, along with his answers to them), and concludes with “Practical Use” (explaining why this concept is important to the life of the Christian). He does not always follow this structure in a mechanical way–depending on the concept he may proceed by dividing and distinguishing the terms–but the thesis/antithesis/questions/practical use approach can still be seen in the background.

This is a similar method to that of Aquinas, but it keeps Gerhard from getting too theoretical and abstract. As he put it, he strove to present theology “nervose, solide et copiose” (energetically, solidly, and copiously).

This Lutheran scholasticism differs from Medieval scholasticism also in its use of Scripture. In fact, the first volume of Gerhard’s Commonplaces is On the Nature of Theology and Scripture.

Having established that, he goes on to On the Nature of God and on the Trinity. Here he begins with what the Bible says about God. He affirms that there is a natural knowledge of God–on the basis of Scripture–but he stresses that knowing there is a God is not the same as faith in God. In the course of that discussion and the subsequent ones about the attributes of God and the nature of the Trinity, he breaks down and resolves difficult issues and contentious controversies in a lucid, illuminating way.

You will also want to read On Christ.

Also On Justification through Faith.

Also On Creation and Predestination. Get that tangled issue all sorted out.

Also On Sin and Free Choice. On the Law. On Good Works. On the Church.

Gerhard has two volumes on the Ministry that today’s pastors can benefit greatly from: Part I (which “deals especially with ministers of the church: their necessity, call, ordination, transfer, removal, and the like”) and Part II (which “deals especially with grades of ministers, marriage of the clergy, and duties including preaching, administering the Sacraments, church discipline, care of the poor, and visitation of the sick”).

These volumes from “the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy” define what Lutheran orthodoxy consists of. These volumes of Gerhard deserve to be collected and placed next to the Collected Works of Luther in every pastor’s study.

Now the Lutheran scholastics have been derided by the later Pietists as advocates of “dead orthodoxy.” That charge is unfair, and it certainly cannot be applied to Johann Gerhard, who was the author not only of these doctrinal studies but was also the author of a series of Meditations that in their devout fervor, poetic imagery, and profound insight outdo the Pietists when it comes to genuine Christian piety. In fact, Gerhard’s meditations have been translated into a good number of the languages of the world and are appreciated far beyond the bounds of Lutheranism–by Puritans, Anglicans, Catholics, evangelicals, the Reformed, and even later pietists. If you hunger for “spirituality” and a deeper personal devotion, read Meditations on Divine Mercy.

UPDATE: You can save $18 per volume by subscribing to the series. Go to this link.

Illustration: Johann Gerhard (ca. 1618) by unknown artist [public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Church

Theology

Gerhard's Meditations

Johann Gerhard

Lutheran scholasticism

Lutheranism

scholasticism

St. Thomas Aquinas

Previous Post

July 9, 2020

Cancel Margaret Sanger

Next Post

July 13, 2020 The Art of the Cranachs

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"While she worked for Trump she was a tool's tool!"

reg

Luther on Tools

"I know wired earbuds are making a comeback (I never stopped using them as I ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

"VCRs, tape decks, and cassette players are all having a revival among a segment of ..."

Tom Hering

Luther on Tools

"As a (retired) lawyer I see potential liability from sharing things like power or sharp ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category America Apologetics Art baseball Bible Blog Christ Church crime Culture Economics Education Ethics Family Food Football Government History Holidays Holy Week Humor International Islam Language Law Life Issues Literature Media Medicine Movies Music Nature News Personal Philosophy Politics psychology Reformation Religions Sacraments Science sex Social Science Sports technology television terrorism Theology Uncategorized Vocation war

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Jephthah's daughter?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ruth Deborah Unnamed Miriam

Books by This Author Books by Gene Veith

See All Titles »