Aquinas On Scripture

This text evaluates the biblical commentaries of St Thomas Aquinas for the modern age with each commentary examined by an expert. Each chapter focuses on the two or three major themes of its particular commentary and also relates the themes of the commentaries to Aquinas' 'Summa Contra Gentiles' and especially to his 'Suma Theologica'.

This text evaluates the biblical commentaries of St Thomas Aquinas for the modern age with each commentary examined by an expert. Each chapter focuses on the two or three major themes of its particular commentary and also relates the themes of the commentaries to Aquinas' 'Summa Contra Gentiles' and especially to his 'Suma Theologica'.

Thomas Aquinas is still most widely known for his works in systematic theology (Summa theologiae) and as a commentator of Aristotle. Recent decades, however, have seen a revived interest in Aquinas as a biblical scholar. The essays gathered in this volume explore the richness of his biblical commentaries by analyzing the hermeneutical tools employed in his reading of Scripture and investigating the contemporary relevance of his biblical exegesis. Its goal is to familiarize the contemporary reader with an indispensable dimension of his scholarly activity: as a master in Sacred Scripture (magister in sacra pagina) Aquinas taught theology as a form of speculative reading of the revealed Word of God and hence the reading of the various books of the Bible constituted the axis of his scriptural didactics. Altogether, the nineteen contributions in the volume offers an up-to-date analysis of Aquinas's contribution to medieval biblical exegesis and points to ways in which it can enrich contemporary debates on the relation between exegesis and systematic theology.

This book makes a major contribution to contemporary theological and philosophical debates, bridging scriptural and metaphysical approaches to the triune God. Bridges the gap between scriptural and metaphysical approaches to biblical narratives. Retrieves Aquinas’s understanding of theology as contemplative wisdom. Structured around Aquinas’s treatise on the triune God in his ‘Summa Theologiae’. Argues that intellectual contemplation is part of a broader spiritual journey towards a better understanding of God. Contributes to the current resurgence of Thomistic theology in both Protestant and Catholic circles.

The aim of this book is to find an answer to the question: how did St. Thomas Aquinas (1224/5 - 1274) use Holy Scripture in his theology? Distinguishing between a quantitative method for determining the place of Scripture in a theological text, and a qualitative method for determining its functions, the author of this study concludes that Aquinas does not only use Scripture in several functions in his theology, but first and foremost regards Scripture as source and framework of theology itself. While an analysis of Aquinas' texts on the resurrection of Christ shows the functioning of Scripture as a factor within the text, but also as a precondition for the text, a series of comparisons between different subject matters, literary genres and sources show that the importance of Scripture is a characteristic of Aquinas' theology in its entirety, even at places where Scripture is not quoted at all. This conclusion does not only show the ecumenical importance of Aquinas' theology, but also the relevance of his theological manner of reading Scripture for modern theologians.

With precision and profundity born of thirty years of devoted study, John Boyle offers an essential introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas on Scripture, shedding helpful light on the goals, methods, and commitments that animate the Angelic Doctor’s engagement with the sacred page. Because the genius of St. Thomas’s approach to the Bible lies not so much in its novelty but rather in the fidelity and clarity with which he recapitulates the riches of the preceding interpretive Tradition, this initiation into St. Thomas’s vision of Scripture is itself an orientation to the Church’s vision of Scripture, from the Fathers through and beyond the Middle Ages. St. Thomas’s embeddedness within the Church’s Tradition and his own historical context is integral to his approach to Scripture, yet it sets him at some distance from modern readers, for whom his interpretive vision may seem perplexing or even impenetrable. In this primer, Boyle first provides an acclimation to this medieval context through a survey and explanation of pertinent technical terminology used by St. Thomas and characteristic of the scholastic theology of the time. With an eye to the medieval practice of considering Scripture according to the fourfold division of causes, Boyle builds on this initial foundation by exploring in turn St. Thomas’s accounts of the end or use of Scripture (final cause), its divine and human authorship (efficient cause), its order and division (material cause), and its literary styles or genres (formal cause). Drawing on writings from across St. Thomas’s corpus, but especially his work On the Commendation and Division of Sacred Scripture and the prologues to his biblical commentaries, Boyle masterfully elucidates both the hermeneutical principles and deep wisdom of the Angelic Doctor’s approach to Scripture, imparting invaluable guidance not only for reading and understanding St. Thomas and other great masters of the Tradition, but also—and ultimately—for understanding Scripture in light of this Tradition and reading it with greater benefit and joy.

In the past eight hundred years, it is possible that no other theologian has shaped our understanding of God, man, and the Church more than St. Thomas Aquinas. While many people are familiar with his most famous work, the Summa Theologiae, fewer know of his important role as a biblical theologian. But in fact, Aquinas’ primary work was biblical theology. His biblical commentaries remain invaluable in the ongoing work of Scripture study. The essays in Thomas Aquinas, Biblical Theologian explore some of Aquinas’ most important contributions within his biblical commentaries and the ongoing work of Scripture study. A dozen contributors explore Aquinas’ thought on faith and revelation, the study of the Sacred Page, and other dogmatic and moral considerations.

This volume fits within the contemporary reappropriation of St. Thomas Aquinas, which emphasizes his use of Scripture and the teachings of the church fathers without neglecting his philosophical insight.