tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post5540521561853745105..comments2024-03-12T04:14:16.271-05:00Comments on The Rad Trad: "The Most Certain Rule of Christian Doctrine": or Why Every Rad Trad Should Aspire to Become a Thomist, Part IThe Rad Tradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-87471193680888117712017-03-02T06:47:43.387-06:002017-03-02T06:47:43.387-06:00"Nemo dat quod non habet" -- this is pre..."Nemo dat quod non habet" -- this is precisely what has put me (admittedly largely uninstructed in historical theology) ill-at-ease with the way the theology of baptism has developed in the Western Church, specifically the assertion we hold that even a pagan can confer a valid and fully efficacious baptism. <br /><br />So how do you give that (in this case, the very light and life of Christ) which you do not have?<br /><br />I have seen this point made in many a traditional Orthodox critique of Western sacramental theology, and have personally found it very compelling on its face. (I have encountered it most cogently and expansively in Fr. Peter Heers' recent book, "The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome's Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church").<br /><br />Would someone more learned than I (Father? Marko? Anyone?) please point me in the direction of Patristic witness and/or the most convincing authentic arguments for the legitimacy of not merely heretical but even pagan, infidel and atheist baptism? I am asking humbly and completely in good faith, as I genuinely struggle with this.Tom B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07289474788868616380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-24788433889043337232017-02-24T14:48:35.698-06:002017-02-24T14:48:35.698-06:00Dear Father. Thank you, and that part of the cerem...Dear Father. Thank you, and that part of the ceremony you highlight is beautiful.Mick Jagger Gathers No Mosquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12879499915093940176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-9037900791546150072017-02-23T16:52:16.074-06:002017-02-23T16:52:16.074-06:00Dear ABS: those are both great finds! I congratula...Dear ABS: those are both great finds! I congratulate you. One interesting detail on the title page of the first, the catechism by P. Pègues, is the author's title as "Master in Theology," then (1922) as now a degree proper to the Dominicans and more exalted (even) than "Doctor of Sacred Theology." Part of the ceremony when this title is conferred has the prior (or superior) presenting the new Master to the confreres using Isaac's words about Jacob: "Behold, the fragrance of my son is the fragrance of a meadow in flower." I don't know why, but I've always loved that detail!<br />All the best, Fr. CapreolusA Simple Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14810128954592339566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-87680345238026575442017-02-23T10:30:07.177-06:002017-02-23T10:30:07.177-06:00ABS is among a huge population of puissant believe...ABS is among a huge population of puissant believers who is neither intelligent or well educated and so he finds very helpful the following sources when it comes to St Thomas;<br /><br />https://www3.nd.edu/~maritain/jmc/etext/catsum.htm<br /><br /><br />http://opcentral.org/a-companion-to-the-summa/<br />Mick Jagger Gathers No Mosquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12879499915093940176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-933848695536111482017-02-22T05:34:37.603-06:002017-02-22T05:34:37.603-06:00Dear Paul: I'm sure all the competing claims m...Dear Paul: I'm sure all the competing claims must have something to do with the individuals' ways of learning. Personally, the method that made it stick for me was the tried and true: a good grammar to memorize all the forms (declensions and what not). Then, use a Latin prose composition text, such as Bennett's or the celebrated Bradley's Arnold. For basic grammar, there is the Wheelock textbook (readily available), and for prose composition, you will have to look on abebooks.com or somewhere similar. In the end, I found that there was no substitute for simply memorizing all the forms and basic rules of grammar and then going on to memorize the rules of syntax by using prose composition. I would say that, depending on the amount of time devoted each day, it would take about two years to get through all this. However, reading Cicero and Caesar (not to mention the far less complex Church Latin) will be remarkably easy afterwards. Best of luck!Capreolushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07329413913112615954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-43937611520300893532017-02-21T22:11:38.819-06:002017-02-21T22:11:38.819-06:00On a tangential note, Capreolus: do you have any r...On a tangential note, Capreolus: do you have any recommendations for the study of Latin? I rue the fact that I never studied Latin properly at grade school, although I was exposed to the '62 missal around 8 or 9 years of age. There are so many recommendations and different methods of learning Latin that it boggles the mind. Each method claims to be the best. I myself have many self-study books, but I never got around to finish them. I'm making another attempt now.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08395971347119256329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-19336066385914436752017-02-21T19:16:05.364-06:002017-02-21T19:16:05.364-06:00I think one of the problems with Thomism as it is ...I think one of the problems with Thomism as it is currently understood is that the seminary version often taught from c.1850-1965 is a very cut and dry "If A=B, and B=C, then A=C" rationalism that gives not too bright people the power to pontificate to the most minute detail on every topic ("Father knows best"). Your points about the assumed education in Latin literature, Aristotle, and love of God contextualize a proper and very reserved engagement of the Summa.The Rad Tradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-28284817011921350562017-02-21T17:57:33.723-06:002017-02-21T17:57:33.723-06:00Having come from a sort of "great books"...Having come from a sort of "great books" background, myself, I sometimes worry that a casual familiarity with certain classics is worse than no familiarity at all. (Cue Pope's famous "drink deep" line, here.) Publishing the Summa Theologica in an easily searchable electronic format lends itself to the seeking out of soundbite-ready selections for blogs and newspapers, more so than with theological works that are not so clearly systematized and indexed.<br /><br />For my own lay edification, I find Thomas's scriptural commentaries to be more helpful than his textbooks. Their more intimate interaction with the Word of God helps one see better into the heart of the Angelic Doctor. The story that he dictated a commentary on the Song of Songs to the hospitable Franciscans on his deathbed has always been deeply moving to me.<br /><br />Looking forward to future installments of this series, to be sure.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04821093432726247774noreply@blogger.com