The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-03-27

about man the masterpiece of visible
creation as in the philosophical sci
ences, or even about God the Archi-
tect and Builder of all these things,
i which bear the impress or image of
Him Who fashioned them out of moth
ing For "the heavens proclaim the
glory of God, and the armament is
the work of His hands" Cps. XVIII-D,
and "by the greatness and the beauty
of the creatures the Creator of them
may be seen so as to be known there
by" (Wis. kills., while "the invisible
things of Him from the creation of
the world are clearly seen, being un-
derstood by the things that are made,
His eternal power also and Divinity"
/ (Rom. I-20). BY revelation, on the
other hand, God in His infinite good
ness speaks directly to man, as speaks
a father to his child as it were by
word of mouth, and thus, in a man.
ner wholly gratuitous and supernatur-
al, a man receives a knowledge OF
truth at once immediate and unmis-
Itakeable. God who at sundry times
and in divers manners spoke in times
past to the fathers by the prophets,
last of all in these days hath spoken
to us by His Son" (Heb. I-D. The
record of this special divine teaching,
of these God-given truths, is found in
the Holy Bible or in Ecclesiastical
Tradition, which the Catholic Church
received from it's Founder Jesus
Christ infallible authority to explain
and present for the acceptance OF
/ faith. Now since we have two meth
DDS of knowledge-reason and faith
and two systems of truths-science
and revelation, the question arises
how these two methods and systems
are related, how they can coexist.
Are both necessary for human guild
ance? Will not one suffice? Are both
in accord, or is a conflict between
them possible? To raise the issue in
more popular and more ineligible
; form: Why admit revelation or the
supernatural? Is not reason alone
sufficient? Do science and faith con-
flict? Are not the doctrines of revela-
ltion-of the Bible and of the Church
l-contradicted i by the conclusions OF
modern science?
: The work or St. nomaSs
: To these repeated inquiries many
answers have been given, but it re-
: mained for St. Thomas to determine
: the relations of the two-fold order of
knowledge and truth in manner
satisfactory to reason and revelation,
and entirely incontrovertible. Ration
+. alism rejects divine faith and the
reality of the supernatural as unneces-
sary and inadmissable, and eXtols rea-
, son and science as adequate to en-
tighten us in the knowledge of all
truth. Mysticism and Traditionalism,
moving to the other extreme of error,
regard divine revelation as the sole
pillar of truth, and consider reason
broken reed fraught with deadliest
dangers to him who will lean on it's
support. Others, ranging from the
Gnostics of the Third Century to the
Averroists of the Thirteenth down to
the Modernists of our own times, car
ried away by false and illusory sys-
TENS of philosophy and science would
fain admit a direct conflict between
reason and faith, so that one may be-
: lieve as true that which his reason
declares to be false! Thus would the
advocates of RationalIsm and Tradi-
: tionalism allow one method of knowl-
edge to monopolize the whole field of
+ truth, while the so-called Modernists,
g though allowing both reason and
g faith to occupy the field, SO divorced
g them as to eliminate all relationship
q and consistency, and destroy the very
g nature of truth. Some of the ablest
g minds have adopted one or other Of
Q these erroneous systems; and the
G pathway of history is strewn with the
e wrecks of those whose enthusiastic
y advocacy of false philosophic theory
e has carried them beyond reach of the
K Churchs warning voice, and has
It caused them to break loose from the
safe anchorage of the true faith. Wit
ness the celebrated names of Tertul-
lian, an Abelard, De Lamenais, a
Loisy! What gratitude then is due
y to ST. Thomas whose clear logical
y mind endued at once with knowl-
IS edge that was natural and supernatur-
II al, drawn from the purest and rich
e est fountains of both--the philosophy
X of the human Aristotle and the Gospel
r of the Divine Christ conceived and
n formulated that system of Scholastic
% Theology wherein reason and faith,
% science and revelation, the natural
le and the supernatural stand combined
a in perfect accord and with incalculable
y mutual advantage.
y Two Distinct Principles.
II
IL st. Thomas brushing aside the
IN errors of his time and by an intui-
or tion that was superhuman anticipat-
a ing those of future ages, recognized
is that In reason and faith we have two
ne distinct principles of human knowl-
IS edge; that these principles, while dis
I'd tinct are by no means discordant;
ne that between them when properly APP
piled no conflict can arise, but har-
&c mony, which does honor to both and
al is entirely desirable and beneficial to
sr- man, must prevail; that faith, instead
ne of being an encroachment upon the
ly rights and independence Of human
ad reason, but powerfully aids that facul-
A-lty in the proper exercise and develop
'e- ment OF it's innate resources; while
ny (Continued on mage AN sa