Faith, Reason and the Church: Galileo, Darwin and Thomas Aquinas

Faith, Reason and the Church

If faith is a supernatural virtue freely granted by God, are "the divine inspirations" of the Church and other communities valid? Are they accepted by all? Could anyone question their validity? There are some aspects where the Church has been denied or incorrectly understood by society.

This is noticeable in the history of the Church condemning Galileo for claiming that the Earth was round, and in its reaction to Darwinian theory. Many people were not able to recognize the error in the reasons given for the Church's position, since they were already defending their current theories.

Science in American Schools

A clear case is that of American schools, which deny the teaching of evolution through Darwinian theory and instead teach creationist theories.

Such behavior by the Church may seem contradictory. Yet in the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas we find the distinction between essence and existence: essence is what a substance is, while beings require contingent existence. The necessity of existence is God, who gives existence to things. If God chose to create the world in a certain form, it does not matter whether that form is round or otherwise; what matters is the divine design.

Thomas Aquinas on Knowledge

Aquinas also held that we reach a complete knowledge of a thing when we discover its individuality. This is by virtue of the creator's design: if a thing exists with a determined purpose, or God's will has placed it there, then discovering it is discovering what was willed.