Skeptics and Believers
Chapter Seven
Skeptics and Believers
“I cannot understand how anyone who knows he is in a state of mortal sin can laugh or be merry.”
—Thomas Aquinas
In the midst of the controversy created by William, Thomas Aquinas had been called upon as an apologist for the Franciscans and Dominicans. Wasting no time, Thomas appeared before a group of assembled theologians of all stripes and made his case. It is said that in doing so, he pleaded the cause of the mendicant orders with such ease that he immediately won over the pope, who officially condemned the work of William of Saint-Amour in October of 1256.
With the future of the orders more secure than ever, Thomas would be recalled to France before the year was out. He left Italy by boat, hoping to make a much faster trip than he would have made on foot. Yet in those days, seaborn travel—although faster—was rife with danger, and this particular trip proved to be full of hardship. The weather, which was calm when they left, quickly took a turn for the worse. Aquinas, fearing that the ship would capsize, is said to have engaged in intense prayer until the ship was able to right itself and arrive at its destination.
Upon his return to Paris, Aquinas was pressured to study for his doctor’s degree as soon as possible, but not everyone was willing to forget about the recent theological turmoil that had swirled around him. It was only with the pope on his side, who is said to have issued nothing short of eleven bulls or papal proclamations demanding that Aquinas be allowed to proceed, that his path was made clear.
Despite these efforts made on his behalf, it was Aquinas’s own self-doubt that hampered his progress the most. In many ways, he questioned whether or not he was worthy of the role that he had been given, and he often doubted that he would be able to succeed. According to legend, Aquinas was in such a cloud of despair and doubt that when he fell asleep on the evening before he was to present himself before the examiners, he cried out to God in prayer, expressing his distress. Similar to when he was locked up in the tower of his family’s castle, it is said that Thomas Aquinas fell asleep while he prayed.
In his dreams, he apparently had a vision of Saint Dominic, the founder of his order, sent from heaven to console him in the midst of his turmoil. The figure is said to have inquired Aquinas, “Why do you thus pray to God in tears?” to which Thomas duly answered, “Because the burden of the Doctorate, for which my knowledge is not sufficient, is laid upon me, and also because I do not know which text to choose for my discourse.” After expressing these doubts, Saint Dominic is said to have assured him, “Behold thou art heard; take the burden of the Doctorate upon thee, for God is with thee.” Aquinas awoke shortly thereafter and felt as if he were indeed imbued with a supernatural sense of self-confidence and emboldened for the task which was at hand.
In late October of 1257, Aquinas was indeed made an official doctor of the faith. From here on out, he entered into a period of voluminous writing in which he created great masterpieces such as the epic Summa contra Gentiles . In this piece, Aquinas sought to build a bridge between Greek and Arab thought that had filtered into Western Europe by framing it into a Christian perspective. His main argument was that the highly intelligent thought of non-Christians shined even brighter when placed under the light of the Christian faith. In other words, rather than shy away from the advances of non-Christians, they should be incorporated as wayward divine sparks that need to be brought back under Christian dominion.
Right around this time, Aquinas was also working on a treatise on the Epistles of St. Paul. Incredibly enough, Aquinas would claim that none other than Paul himself would come down to him in a vision to express his approval for what he had written. Still, this pales in comparison to the claim he made shortly after this supposed vision of the Apostle Paul because this vision is said to have been followed by an encore supernatural visitation with Jesus Christ. According to legend, not only did Thomas Aquinas have an audience with Christ, but several of his fellow monks bore witness to the encounter as well.
Although most would agree that these fantastical tales are merely allegories, there are those that believe the accounts occurred just as they were described. It seems that just as was the case during the times in which he lived, Thomas Aquinas was quite good at provoking both skeptics and believers alike.