Aquinas’s synthesis of Aristotelian and Christian
thought was bitterly argued within the church.
Earlier in this chapter, we saw that the conservative
members of the early Christian church (such as St.
Jerome) argued that non-Christian philosophers
should be condemned and ignored. Augustine argued,
however, that as much non-Christian philosophy
as possible should be assimilated into church
dogma. Augustine won the debate. Now, some
900 years later, we have a similar debate over the
works of Aristotle. One of the most influential voices
of conservatism was St. Bonaventure (ca. 1217–
1274), who condemned the works of Aristotle.
Bonaventure, following Augustine, believed that
one comes to know God through introspection,
not through reasoning or by studying nature.
Aquinas’s position prevailed, however, and was finally
accepted as official church doctrine. With
some modifications, it remains the philosophical cornerstone
of Catholicism to this day. The view represented
by Bonaventure lives on in Protestantism,
where scripture is valued more highly than reason
and a personal relationship with God is valued
more highly than ritual and church prescriptions.
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