Thomas Aquinas on Adam's Faith in the Incarnation
In the Summa theologiae II-II, q. 2, a. 7, Aquinas argues that faith in the mystery of Christ is necessary "at all times and for all persons," even for those existing prior to the Fall into sin. This teaching appears to stand in tension with Aquinas's well-known position on the motive...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
The Thomist
Year: 2025, Volume: 89, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-34 |
| IxTheo Classification: | KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages NBE Anthropology NBF Christology NBK Soteriology |
| Further subjects: | B
Grace
B Albert the Great B Bonaventure B Thomas Aquinas B Faith B motive of the Incarnation |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In the Summa theologiae II-II, q. 2, a. 7, Aquinas argues that faith in the mystery of Christ is necessary "at all times and for all persons," even for those existing prior to the Fall into sin. This teaching appears to stand in tension with Aquinas's well-known position on the motive of the Incarnation. If, according to Aquinas, redemption from sin is the primary motive of the Incarnation, such that if humanity had not sinned God would not have become incarnate, how to make sense of his teaching on the necessity of Adam's explicit faith in Christ prior to the Fall? In this paper, I explore the surprising development of Aquinas's teaching on Adam's faith from his early Scriptum on the Sentences to the Summa theologiae and show how his later teaching, far from betraying a momentary lapse in judgment, in fact highlights the strongly 'christocentric' character of his thought. |
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| ISSN: | 2473-3725 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Thomist
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/tho.2025.a947190 |
