Today we are discussing one of the most influential theologians and philosophers throughout time: Thomas Aquinas. We focus on his union of reason and religion. Aquinas argues that new knowledge in theology is obtained through revelation. Revelation is the process where divine truth is communicated to humans through God. But how is thinking of something new and saying God must have communicated it to you, an actual truth? I can say a supranatural authority has appeared to me in a dream and declared that I am the queen of the world, but this does not actually make it true. Just as a book saying a man was able to part the entire Red Sea, does not make it true.
Aquinas argues that both philosophy and theology make claims of truth based on faith. Sure, most of the new knowledge I obtain has been given to me by other authorities that I have faith in parents, teachers and books. I have faith that what my lecturer tells me is true. But I find there is a difference between a lecturer telling me how the devaluation of a currency leads to inflation, and a book telling me 2000 years ago a man died and then magically came back to life after 3 days? Yes, I have faith my econ teacher is telling me the truth, but this is because I can logically argue that when a currency devaluates, you can buy less with the same amount of money, leading to inflation. There is no way that I can logically explain the resurrection of Christ.
I do not pretend I discover truths myself, just that some truths seem to have more merit than other. I also do not pretend that my secularized upbringing did not give me presuppositions: Yes, I believe God does not exist. But just having faith in a truth is not a form of proof. There is no actual evidence God exists, people might say they have witnessed divine intervention, but until I see it myself, I will never believe it to be true. I do not pretend I can argue with a brilliant mind like Aquinas’s, but for me, revelation does just not seem a good enough justification for a truth. And until somebody convinces me that revelation is just as reliable as the scientific method, I will continue to not be convinced.
An Introduction to Medieval Philosophy 