The latest attempt by "Catholic" Neocon George Weigel illustrates in spades the danger of reading St. Augustine out of context and totally ignoring the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas. Tragically it has become fashionable in the wake of the second Vatican Council to all but ignore the Angelic Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church and arguably the greatest philosopher of all time.
The neo-modernist contingent also referred to as the progressivist wing clearly triumphed in the Counciliar and post-Counciliar period which now numbers some 40+ years. Whenever Traditional Catholic teaching is eschewed, one sees a repudiation of Aquinas and a simultaneous holding up of heterodox modern and neomodern imposters--usually in concert with inaccurately/incompletely quoted passages/teachings from St. Augustine.
Weigel is only one of many neo-modernist "Catholics" resorting to heterodoxy while attempting to anchor his spurious views in non-existent/adulterated Augustinian teaching. The only thing necessary to effect a complete flight from Catholic orthodoxy is; to quote Kung, Teilhard de Chardin, Rahner and the other progressivists who triumphed at Vatican II. The latter group would no doubt be surprised to see themselves grouped with the likes of the multiple "Catholic" Neocon's who have provided cover for the immoral actions of the Bush administration vis a vis preventive war.
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
Showing posts with label St. Thomas Aquinas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Thomas Aquinas. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2008
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Modern Philosophical Worldview Undermines the Genuine Goal of Humanity
Some readers wonder why this site is dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas. It is really very simple. He is the only philosopher who ever produced a workable/functional total philosophical system which was not inherently contradictory. This is not to say that his philosophy is easy to put into practice because it is not. It is difficult. However, the philosophy of St. Thomas is true and much of modern philosophy is false.
St. Thomas was able to take the best of pagan (Greek and Roman) philosophy and Catholic Christian philosophy/theology and combine them successfully in the form of the Aristotelian/Thomistic synthesis.
Many philosophers throughout history have attempted to produce a complete philosophical system--what today we refer to as "Worldview"--made up of epistemology (theory of truth), metaphysics (theory of reality) and morality (theory of right and wrong). Virtually all have failed with the exception of St. Thomas. That is why prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church held the philosophy of St. Thomas in such high regard--it literally was the philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church.
All that was altered after Vatican Council II much of the documents of which were based in the so-called Nouvelle (Progressivist Theology) Theologie and elements of modern philosophy rather than the teachings of traditional (orthodox) Roman Catholicism. This is especially true in the areas of morality and metaphysics. A great deal of modern philosophical theory e.g. the nature of human anthropology, is not only contradictory, but is deficient in failing to recognize the authentic/genuine good of man (salvation and the beatific vision) as the sumum bonum. Instead it "deifies" man by making him a false god accountable only to himself. This leads to terrible struggles in this life and the potential loss of salvation in the next.
It is undeniable that since the Roman Catholic Church abandoned Thomism in the wake of Vatican II, the world has markedly deteriorated/regressed, particularly from a moral perspective--although this reality is multi-factorial. The authentic Roman Catholic faith which once preserved all of Western civilization must once again embrace Thomistic teaching. Until it does, the global moral/political environment will no doubt continue to worsen since the Roman Catholic Church from the time of Christ up until the Papacy of John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council he convoked had served as the "light of the world unto the nations."
For more information on the role the conciliar (post-Vatican II) church is playing in the current universal moral crisis see my companion site.
St. Thomas was able to take the best of pagan (Greek and Roman) philosophy and Catholic Christian philosophy/theology and combine them successfully in the form of the Aristotelian/Thomistic synthesis.
Many philosophers throughout history have attempted to produce a complete philosophical system--what today we refer to as "Worldview"--made up of epistemology (theory of truth), metaphysics (theory of reality) and morality (theory of right and wrong). Virtually all have failed with the exception of St. Thomas. That is why prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church held the philosophy of St. Thomas in such high regard--it literally was the philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church.
All that was altered after Vatican Council II much of the documents of which were based in the so-called Nouvelle (Progressivist Theology) Theologie and elements of modern philosophy rather than the teachings of traditional (orthodox) Roman Catholicism. This is especially true in the areas of morality and metaphysics. A great deal of modern philosophical theory e.g. the nature of human anthropology, is not only contradictory, but is deficient in failing to recognize the authentic/genuine good of man (salvation and the beatific vision) as the sumum bonum. Instead it "deifies" man by making him a false god accountable only to himself. This leads to terrible struggles in this life and the potential loss of salvation in the next.
It is undeniable that since the Roman Catholic Church abandoned Thomism in the wake of Vatican II, the world has markedly deteriorated/regressed, particularly from a moral perspective--although this reality is multi-factorial. The authentic Roman Catholic faith which once preserved all of Western civilization must once again embrace Thomistic teaching. Until it does, the global moral/political environment will no doubt continue to worsen since the Roman Catholic Church from the time of Christ up until the Papacy of John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council he convoked had served as the "light of the world unto the nations."
For more information on the role the conciliar (post-Vatican II) church is playing in the current universal moral crisis see my companion site.
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