A valid argument can still land on a false conclusion, and a true opinion can be joined by a bad one. Augustine draws that line in On Christian Doctrine, then turns it on definition and eloquence: the rules stay true even when poets, heretics, or a clever speaker put them to a false use. In the Confessions he looks further back, at the earth that was invisible and formless, and at the darkness on the face of the deep. That darkness was not a second substance. It was the absence of light, as silence is the absence of sound. And yet the formless matter was not altogether nothing. Aquinas then asks whether it was fitting for God to become incarnate, and whether that coming was necessary. Goodness communicates itself, and the highest good in the highest way. God could have restored us otherwise. There was no more fitting way. Scripture assigns the Incarnation to sin, and the fullness of time was neither the beginning of the world nor its end.

Today’s Readings:

Augustine — On Christian Doctrine, Book 2, Chapters 33–36 (Sections 51–54) Augustine — The Confessions, Book 12, Chapter 3 (Section 3) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 3, Question 1 (Articles 1–6)

Explore the Project:

Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org

#ThroughTheChurchFathers #Augustine #OnChristianDoctrine #Confessions #Aquinas #SummaTheologica #Incarnation #ChurchFathers