1

INTRODUCTION

The saying that philosophy should serve as the handmaiden of theology was
often asserted by scholastic theologians in the Middle Ages.
Thomas Aquinas was challenged with the question where theologians were
saying that secular wisdom is often signified in Scripture by water, divine wisdom by
wine. But in Isaiah 1:22, innkeepers are rebuked for mixing water with wine, thus
those teachers who mingle philosophical doctrines with Sacred teaching are to be con-
demned.1 It is against this claim that it is wrong to mix philosophy and theology that I
propose that the problem springs, primarily from a defective understanding of the rela-
tionship between faith and reason.
Theology is the reasoning about God, the reasoning about the objects of faith.
That is, once we have accepted some things as true, based upon the authority of God,
we then go on to think about them, and this is doing Theology. Theology is reasoning
about sacred scripture,2 this is an important point to keep in mind. To put it more di-
rectly, theology is the human capacity for reasoning that is seeking to understand the
divine message given by God to mankind. Without reason we cannot do theology.
Theology can be defined also as: “The process of interpreting one’s faith expe-
rience of God;”3 it seeks to understand the God revealed in the Bible and this can only
be attempted with the aid of reasoning.

1
Cf. T. AQUINAS, Faith, Reason and Theology, A. MAURER, (Tr.), Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval
Studies, Toronto 1987, 46.
2
Cf. E. GILSON, The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, in, E. BULLOUGH, (Tr.), G. A. ELRINGTON,
(Ed.), Dorset Press, New York 1948, 48.
3
M. BULUMA, Introduction to Theology Class Notes, St. Augustine Peramiho Major Seminary, Octo-
ber 2019, unpublished, 3.
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PHILOSOPHY IS THE HANDMAID OF THEOLOGY

A handmaid in the formal sense of its meaning is something that supports and
helps something else. Philosophy as the handmaid of theology can be easily, literarily
understood as philosophy being the foundation of theology.

Philosophy speaks of truth through reason and theology talks about revelation
of truth through the Divine Being we call God. But what can be their connection?
What makes philosophy the handmaid of theology? In the seminary formation, phi-
losophy is the preparation of a person to understand theology. Philosophy comes from
the root words Philo and Sophia, which means love of wisdom. With this kind of idea,
philosophy encompasses wisdom. To understand the nature of the divine, one must
possess wisdom by studying it with the help of philosophy. In other words, for the
writer who is a seminarian striving towards priesthood to understand the divine, he
must know the process of His manifestation with the help of causes and effects in line
with wisdom through philosophy.

Philosophy perfects theology and it has assisted the writer to know many more
things with regards to the seminary formation which he is going through. Below are
some points where the writer has seen philosophy serve theology.

a. Philosophy assisted and still assists in dealing with false Theological doctrines and
heresies.

b. Philosophy permits a deeper perception into the truths that are already known by
Revelation.

c. Truths known by sound Philosophy and Truths known by Revelation alone cannot
contradict each other.
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d. Philosophy gives the principles of interpretation by which God’s Word is properly

interpreted.

e. Philosophy can be used to demonstrate the Presuppositions of Theology.

Philosophy assists in dealing with false Theological doctrines and heresies, and
this is done either by showing them to be deceitful or lacking in necessity. 4 It is com-
monly called Apologetics; which is the defense of the Christian faith. Theologians, in
refuting the errors of heretics or secular thinkers use the principles of philosophy, the
rules of logic, and appropriate rhetoric to demonstrate the falsity of the false teach-
ings. Some of these are seen in the study of the history of the Catholic Church where-
by the mother Church went through refutation of various heresies before arriving at
where she is now. Philosophy is useful for showing that God exists.

Philosophy permits a deeper perception into the truths that are already known
by Revelation. It is used in theology to throw: “light on the contents of faith by analo-
gies,”5 Take for instance how the Father is addressed as the creator in the Creed, it
might be asked whether this means that only the Father is the Creator and that the oth-
er Persons of the Trinity are not involved. Philosophy at this point comes to our aid,
telling us that Creation is an action of God, and all actions presuppose certain natural
capabilities. This means that the divine act of creation is attributable to the divine na-
ture alone. This leads to the conclusion that, since all three Divine persons are of one
nature, all three Persons are involved in creation. Philosophy helps to solve the appar-
ent problem. Furthermore, philosophy helps the writer to understand important doc-
trines such as the unity of two natures (human and divine) in the person of Jesus.

Truths known by sound philosophy and truths known by Revelation alone can-
not contradict each other; the writer has come to realize this over the course of time,
through his engagement in both philosophical and theological lectures. Truth is always
true; something cannot be both true and false in the same respect and at the same time
as this is against the principle of non-contradiction. Another way to reach this same

4
Cf. E. GILSON, Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, 48.
5
T. AQUINAS, Faith, Reason and Theology, 49.
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conclusion is to note that God is the one source both of revealed truth and human rea-
son. Two important consequences follow from this.
First: a philosophical conclusion that is clearly contrary to revealed truth, such
as that the universe had no beginning, cannot be in actual facts, a sound philosophical
conclusion because it opposes certain revelation. This aids to guide both the progress
of philosophical thinking as well as the thinking in natural science.6
Second: a theological position that is clearly contrary to a sound philosophical
conclusion cannot be true, either. For example, if it was demonstrated beyond any
uncertainty that the universe was not created in six days then this would mean that an
understanding of Genesis to the contrary would be false. This would not mean that
Scripture is in error, only that our interpretation of it was faulty.7

Philosophy gives the principles of interpretation by which God’s Word is

properly interpreted, also this the writer has come to understand. The Bible is the in-
spired and inerrant word of God, but in order to understand it and apply it to our lives
we must read and interpret it. Hermeneutics is the art of interpretation. Only when we
have properly interpreted the scripture can we claim to know what God is telling us. It
is important to note here that, when the Bible is properly interpreted it will never con-
tradict true philosophy because just as theology is the human interpretation of divinely
inspired scriptures, philosophy is the human interpretation of this divinely created
universe.8Any contradictions between philosophy and theology are due to our faulty
interpretations and faulty reasoning, not due to the Bible or to Creation.

Philosophy can be used to demonstrate the presuppositions of Theology, for

example, in order to talk meaningfully about theological questions such as the divine
inspiration of Scripture, the divinity of Christ, the Virgin birth and the Trinity, we
must presuppose the existence of God. The existence of God is something that philos-
ophy is able to discuss meaningfully, without venturing into theological ponderings.
In philosophy we discuss God as the cause of all things that exist, and we can learn

6
Cf. W. NEWTON, Theology and Philosophy; In Praise of the Handmaid, Franciscan University of
Steubenville, unpublished, 2.
7
Ibid.
8
Cf. E. GILSON, Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, 47.
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certain things about the cause by looking at the effect; creation,9 (Cf. Rom. 1:19-20).
Aquinas notes that these presuppositions are: “The truths about God that are proved
by natural reason, for example, that God exists, that He is one, and other truths of this
sort about God or creatures proved in philosophy are presupposed by faith.”10

Philosophy is and remains the handmaid of Theology and this union has been
amazingly fruitful, so fruitful that, according to John Paul II, it points to the agency of
Divine Providence: “In engaging great cultures for the first time, the Church cannot
abandon what she has gained from her inculturation in the world of Greco-Latin
thought. To reject this heritage would be to deny the providential plan of God who
guides his Church down the paths of time and history.”11

9
T. AQUINAS, God, in, A. C. PEGIS, (Tr.), in, Summa Contra Gentiles, Vol. I, University of Notre
Dame Press, Notre Dame 2005, 75-6.
10
T. AQUINAS, Faith, Reason and Theology, 49.
11
JOHN PAUL II, Fides et Ratio, 72.
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CONCLUSION

In the introduction, the writer noted one opinion concerning the use of philoso-
phy in theology. Namely, that to mix the two was like mixing water into the wine,
thus diminishing the quality of the wine, and losing the flavor. Aquinas responded to
that claim as follows. “So those who use the works of the philosophers in sacred doc-
trine, by bringing them into the service of faith, do not mix water with wine, but rather
change water into wine.”12
Far from there being an intrinsic conflict between reason and faith, the two are
complimentary and essential aspects of human life. Reason is essential to theology,
Faith is also a necessary part of human life in general, and a necessity for salvation in
particular. Without faith it is impossible to function in day to day life because 80 % of
the things that we think we know are articles of faith for us.
To sum it up, philosophy is the handmaid of theology, because Philosophy can
stand on its own based on natural reasons and causes while theology would revolve in
God’s revelation. But in order for us to understand how God manifests the truth in
little ways, philosophy is necessary in order for man to understand God with the help
of his function or nature, which is His rationality.

12
T. AQUINAS, Faith, Reason and Theology, 50.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. AQUINAS, T., Faith, Reason and Theology, Maurer, A., (Tr.), Pontifical Institute
of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto 1987.
________
2. , God, in Pegis, A. C., (Tr.), in, Summa Contra Gentiles, Vol. I, University
of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame 2005.
3. BULUMA, M., Introduction to Theology Class Notes, St. Augustine Peramiho
Major Seminary, October 2019, unpublished.
4. GILSON. E., The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, in, BULLOUGH, E., (Tr.),
ELRINGTON, G. A., (Ed.), Dorset Press, New York 1948.
5. JOHN PAUL II, Fides et Ratio.
6. NEWTON, W., Theology and Philosophy; In Praise of the Handmaid, Franciscan
University of Steubenville, unpublished.