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Never Doubt Thomas: The Catholic Aquinas as Evangelical and Protestant
Theologian, philosopher, teacher. There are few religious figures more Catholic than Saint Thomas Aquinas, a man credited with helping to shape Catholicism of the second millennium. In Never Doubt Thomas, Francis J. Beckwith employs his own spiritual journey from Catholicism to Evangelicalism and then back to Catholicism to reveal the signal importance of Aquinas not only for Catholics but also for Protestants.
Beckwith begins by outlining Aquinas' history and philosophy, noting misconceptions and inaccurate caricatures of Thomist traditions. He explores the legitimacy of a "Protestant" Aquinas by examining Aquinas' views on natural law and natural theology in light of several Protestant critiques. Not only did Aquinas' presentation of natural law assume some of the very inadequacies Protestant critics have leveled against it, Aquinas did not, as is often supposed, believe that one must first prove God's existence through human reasoning before having faith in God. Rather, Aquinas held that one may know God through reason and employ it to understand more fully the truths of faith. Beckwith also uses Aquinas' preambles of faith--what a person can know about God before fully believing in Him--to argue for a pluralist Aquinas, explaining how followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam can all worship the same God, yet adhere to different faiths.
Beckwith turns to Aquinas' doctrine of creation to question theories of Intelligent Design, before, finally, coming to the heart of the matter: in what sense can Aquinas be considered an Evangelical? Aquinas' views on justification are often depicted by some Evangelicals as discontinuous with those articulated in the Council of Trent. Beckwith counters this assessment, revealing not only that Aquinas' doctrine fully aligns with the tenets laid out by the Council, but also that this doctrine is more Evangelical than critics care to admit.
Beckwith's careful reading makes it hard to doubt that Thomas Aquinas is a theologian, philosopher, and teacher for the universal church--Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical.
Beckwith begins by outlining Aquinas' history and philosophy, noting misconceptions and inaccurate caricatures of Thomist traditions. He explores the legitimacy of a "Protestant" Aquinas by examining Aquinas' views on natural law and natural theology in light of several Protestant critiques. Not only did Aquinas' presentation of natural law assume some of the very inadequacies Protestant critics have leveled against it, Aquinas did not, as is often supposed, believe that one must first prove God's existence through human reasoning before having faith in God. Rather, Aquinas held that one may know God through reason and employ it to understand more fully the truths of faith. Beckwith also uses Aquinas' preambles of faith--what a person can know about God before fully believing in Him--to argue for a pluralist Aquinas, explaining how followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam can all worship the same God, yet adhere to different faiths.
Beckwith turns to Aquinas' doctrine of creation to question theories of Intelligent Design, before, finally, coming to the heart of the matter: in what sense can Aquinas be considered an Evangelical? Aquinas' views on justification are often depicted by some Evangelicals as discontinuous with those articulated in the Council of Trent. Beckwith counters this assessment, revealing not only that Aquinas' doctrine fully aligns with the tenets laid out by the Council, but also that this doctrine is more Evangelical than critics care to admit.
Beckwith's careful reading makes it hard to doubt that Thomas Aquinas is a theologian, philosopher, and teacher for the universal church--Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical.
213 pages, Hardcover
Published July 15, 2019
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About the author
Francis J. Beckwith
57 books28 followersFrancis J. Beckwith is Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Graduate Program in Philosophy and Co-Director of the Program on Philosophical Studies of Religion in Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR). With his appointment in the Department of Philosophy, he also teaches courses in the Departments of Political Science and Religion as well as the J. M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, where he served as its Associate Director from July 2003 until January 2007.
Born in 1960 in New York City, Professor Beckwith grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, the eldest of the four children of Harold (“Pat”) and Elizabeth Beckwith. He graduated in 1974 from St. Viator’s Elementary School and in 1978 from Bishop Gorman High School, where he was a three-sport letterman and a member of the 1978 Nevada State AAA Basketball Championship Team.
In 2008-09 he served on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame as the Mary Ann Remick Senior Visiting Fellow in Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics & Culture. A 2002-03 Research Fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions in the Department of Politics at Princeton University, Professor Beckwith currently serves as a member of Princeton’s James Madison Society. He has also held full-time faculty appointments at Trinity International University (1997-2002), Whittier College (1996-97), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1989-96).
A graduate of Fordham University (Ph.D. and M.A. in philosophy), he also holds the Master of Juridical Studies (M.J.S.) degree from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he won a CALI Award for Academic Excellence in Reproductive Control Seminar.
He has served on the executive committees of both the Society of Christian Philosophers (1999-2002) and the Evangelical Philosophical Society (1998-2003) as well as on the national board of the University Faculty for Life (1999-present). The 57th President of the Evangelical Theological Society (November 2006-May 2007) , Professor Beckwith served from 2005 through 2008 as a member of the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Philosophy and Law. In January 2008 he was selected as the 2007 Person of the Year by Inside the Vatican Magazine.
Born in 1960 in New York City, Professor Beckwith grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, the eldest of the four children of Harold (“Pat”) and Elizabeth Beckwith. He graduated in 1974 from St. Viator’s Elementary School and in 1978 from Bishop Gorman High School, where he was a three-sport letterman and a member of the 1978 Nevada State AAA Basketball Championship Team.
In 2008-09 he served on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame as the Mary Ann Remick Senior Visiting Fellow in Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics & Culture. A 2002-03 Research Fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions in the Department of Politics at Princeton University, Professor Beckwith currently serves as a member of Princeton’s James Madison Society. He has also held full-time faculty appointments at Trinity International University (1997-2002), Whittier College (1996-97), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1989-96).
A graduate of Fordham University (Ph.D. and M.A. in philosophy), he also holds the Master of Juridical Studies (M.J.S.) degree from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he won a CALI Award for Academic Excellence in Reproductive Control Seminar.
He has served on the executive committees of both the Society of Christian Philosophers (1999-2002) and the Evangelical Philosophical Society (1998-2003) as well as on the national board of the University Faculty for Life (1999-present). The 57th President of the Evangelical Theological Society (November 2006-May 2007) , Professor Beckwith served from 2005 through 2008 as a member of the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Philosophy and Law. In January 2008 he was selected as the 2007 Person of the Year by Inside the Vatican Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 6, 2019
First, aside from a few small complaints, I found the book to be a nice light read. It is written for the informed layman, so he doesn't go very deep into the subjects (which is perfectly fine, when that is the purpose of the book, as he says it is). Beckwith provides alot of personal anecdotes, which makes it an enjoyable read. I enjoyed reading his views on the different subjects he addressed, and found myself agreeing with most of what he said about Aquinas (and even about the views of some of the Protestant authors he interacted with).
Second, as to the rating, I would have given this book a higher rating: (1) if the author had interacted more with the historical Protestant authors of the 1500s to the end of the 1700s, many of whom interacted critically both with Aquinas and Trent. The authors view of "Protestant theology" is almost entirely restrained to contemporary theologians (with the exception of a few sparse references to Calvin). Recent research into the history of Reformed theology (cf. Muller, Donnelly, and so on) shows a Protestantism that is quite different from that which Beckwith interacts with (especially in relation to the first three subjects he touches on in his book Natural law and theology, classical Theism, and approaches to the relationship between God and his creation.). As he is primarily interacting with contemporary protestants, his portrayal of the protestant appreciation or critique of Aquinas is flawed in major ways. For example, it is a point of historical fact that the great majority (if not all) Protestant theologians from the 1500s to the end of the 1800s firmly believed in precisely the doctrines of Natural Law and Natural Theology that Beckwith says Aquinas holds to, but that Protestants don't. (2) If the author hadn't engaged in a form of "hasty generalization" (this thinker is like that, therefore his entire school or family of theology is like that). We see this, for example, in his discussion of Alvin Plantinga's approach to natural knowledge of God. He begins by talking about "Plantinga's " views, which slides into "the Reformed philosophers" views, which then becomes "The Reformed view", which is then contrasted with the Catholic view. All on the same page (p. 32). The views of a few recent theologians who associate with Reformed theology can in no way be portrayed as the reformed position. Interestingly enough, Beckwith does with Catholicism what he should have done with Protestantism. Most of the protestants he interacted with adhere to at least one of the major Protestant confessions, especially the Reformed thinkers like Plantinga, Sproul, Calvin, Henry, etc. (LBC1689, Westminster, Belgic, etc.). If he wanted to talk about the Reformed view, he could have consulted these official documents, and then compared what they say with the utterances of individual theologians (something he suggests we do, in a later chapter, with Catholic thinkers). (3) If he had dealt with more important issues. Honestly, some of the sections were tied entirely to recent developments or debates (such as Intelligent Design which is advanced by Protestants and Catholics alike, and the question of whether the God of Christianity is the same as the God of Islam or Israel), which, though it was interesting to read Beckwith's impressions of how he thinks Aquinas might have responded to them, seemed somewhat out of place when squashed between 2 major theological issues (natural law and theology, and justification). (4) The overall impression that one gets, by reading this book, is that Beckwith thinks that Protestants have, in general, been poor interpreters of Aquinas, but that Beckwith will nicely correct their errors, pat them on the heads, congratulate them for their efforts, and encourage them to accept the proper interpretation of Aquinas (his, or the Catholic churches view, either way).
Second, as to the rating, I would have given this book a higher rating: (1) if the author had interacted more with the historical Protestant authors of the 1500s to the end of the 1700s, many of whom interacted critically both with Aquinas and Trent. The authors view of "Protestant theology" is almost entirely restrained to contemporary theologians (with the exception of a few sparse references to Calvin). Recent research into the history of Reformed theology (cf. Muller, Donnelly, and so on) shows a Protestantism that is quite different from that which Beckwith interacts with (especially in relation to the first three subjects he touches on in his book Natural law and theology, classical Theism, and approaches to the relationship between God and his creation.). As he is primarily interacting with contemporary protestants, his portrayal of the protestant appreciation or critique of Aquinas is flawed in major ways. For example, it is a point of historical fact that the great majority (if not all) Protestant theologians from the 1500s to the end of the 1800s firmly believed in precisely the doctrines of Natural Law and Natural Theology that Beckwith says Aquinas holds to, but that Protestants don't. (2) If the author hadn't engaged in a form of "hasty generalization" (this thinker is like that, therefore his entire school or family of theology is like that). We see this, for example, in his discussion of Alvin Plantinga's approach to natural knowledge of God. He begins by talking about "Plantinga's " views, which slides into "the Reformed philosophers" views, which then becomes "The Reformed view", which is then contrasted with the Catholic view. All on the same page (p. 32). The views of a few recent theologians who associate with Reformed theology can in no way be portrayed as the reformed position. Interestingly enough, Beckwith does with Catholicism what he should have done with Protestantism. Most of the protestants he interacted with adhere to at least one of the major Protestant confessions, especially the Reformed thinkers like Plantinga, Sproul, Calvin, Henry, etc. (LBC1689, Westminster, Belgic, etc.). If he wanted to talk about the Reformed view, he could have consulted these official documents, and then compared what they say with the utterances of individual theologians (something he suggests we do, in a later chapter, with Catholic thinkers). (3) If he had dealt with more important issues. Honestly, some of the sections were tied entirely to recent developments or debates (such as Intelligent Design which is advanced by Protestants and Catholics alike, and the question of whether the God of Christianity is the same as the God of Islam or Israel), which, though it was interesting to read Beckwith's impressions of how he thinks Aquinas might have responded to them, seemed somewhat out of place when squashed between 2 major theological issues (natural law and theology, and justification). (4) The overall impression that one gets, by reading this book, is that Beckwith thinks that Protestants have, in general, been poor interpreters of Aquinas, but that Beckwith will nicely correct their errors, pat them on the heads, congratulate them for their efforts, and encourage them to accept the proper interpretation of Aquinas (his, or the Catholic churches view, either way).
June 12, 2022
It’s a short one, but there is lots to be learned in this one. Plenty of it went over my head (I still can’t wrap my mind around the RC understanding of justification, nor Thomas’s four causes), but not too much that I didn’t profit from the reading.
February 7, 2020
Based on the experience of the author and on the title, I was expecting this book to argue that Protestants and Aquinas have more in common than many think. Instead, it corrected Protestants who view Aquinas in a Protestant light and seemed to argue that if Protestants listened better to Aquinas they would be more in line with Roman Catholicism. Perhaps the subtitle should have ended with a question mark.
That does not take away from how thought provoking and well written the book is. The topics covered (natural law, intelligent design, justification, etc.) were fascinating, but none of them were covered the way I would have expected.
That does not take away from how thought provoking and well written the book is. The topics covered (natural law, intelligent design, justification, etc.) were fascinating, but none of them were covered the way I would have expected.
May 2, 2021
This is a very accessible and enjoyable book on Aquinas that is well worth reading, especially for evangelicals/Protestants. Beckwith does a great job treating some hot-button topics and delineating what Aquinas has to offer the conversation to unsettle how the lines have been drawn in contemporary debates/discussions. He helpfully corrects some prominent misinterpretations of Thomas, but more importantly, he illuminates some reasons why Protestants are wont to misinterpret him so frequently. This book helpfully illustrates the fact that taking the time to understand Aquinas well bears significant ecumenical fruit.
January 13, 2020
I have only just read this book once, and very quickly, so I do not wish to give a detailed review. I will say, though, that it was enjoyable and profitable. I appreciate Beckwith's knowledge of and affection for both Catholic and Evangelical Protestant Christianity. The book is very narrowly targeted around four main issues (as is necessary, given the voluminous output of Aquinas), and each of them is immediately relevant in today's cultural climate: the usefulness and extent of natural law, whether Muslims, Christians, and Jews worship the same God, the appropriateness of Intelligent Design theory (from a Thomistic perspective), and whether Aquinas was really a kind of proto-Protestant about justification. Beckwith handles each of these issues clearly, charitably, and thoroughly. I am looking forward to re-reading this soon, more slowly and thoughtfully. I'd love to see more books of this sort, that make Aquinas's thoughts accessible to Protestants, illustrate the richness of Aquinas's thought as well as its usefulness to Protestants, and also to help close some of the distance between Catholics and Protestants.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews