Is there any relationship between Aquinas teaching on the analogical knowledge of God and Christ teaching in parables?
score:1
Parables & Metaphors
To speak parabolically is to speak in metaphors, and metaphors pertain to poetry, "the least (infima) of all the sciences" because it "makes use of metaphors for the sake of (propter) representation" (Summa Theologica I q. 1 a. 9 arg./ad 1).
Unlike analogy, metaphors can be used to conceal knowledge (or reveal it):
Matthew 13:10-11
Why speakest thou to them [the multitudes] in parables [and openly to the Apostles]? […] Because to you [the Apostles] it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given.
St. Thomas's commentary on Matthew 13:3:
And he spoke to them many things in parables. The reason is twofold[: that]
[…] by parables of this kind, sacred things would be hidden from the unbelievers, lest they blaspheme: for it was said above, “Give not that which is holy to dogs” ([Mt.] 7, 6). […]
spiritual things are hidden; for that reason, they cannot fully be made known through temporal things, hence, they have to be made known through different things; “I wish that God would speak with thee, and would open his lips to thee, that he might shew thee the secrets of wisdom” (Job 11, 5-6).
Metaphor is "improper supposition" according to John of St. Thomas. This means "that a word is predicated of something which does not fall under what the word signifies." (McInerny Logic of Analogy p. 146).
Analogy
Thesis 4 of the 24 Thomistic Theses states:
Thesis IV.
Ens, quod denominatur ab esse, non univoce de Deo ac de creaturis dicitur, nec tamen prorsus aequivoce, sed analogice, analogia tum attributionis tum proportionalitis.
Being, which derives its name from existence, is not predicated univocally of God and creatures; nor yet merely equivocally, but analogically, by the analogy both of attribution and of proportionality.
Commentary: If the actuality of existence is in God a Pure Act and is in creatures an Act mixed with Potency, Being cannot be predicated of God and creatures in an identical way [univocally]: God is self-existing, creatures have their existence from God. Still, because the effect in some manner reproduces its cause, Being does not belong to God and creatures in a totally different sense [equivocally]. Being, as predicated of God and creatures is an analogous term. Its analogy is first that of attribution, since Being appertains to creatures as far as they have it from God, to whom it appertains by essence; and is secondly that of proportionality, since the actuality of existence is intrinsic to God and creatures as existing beings. [Summa Theologiae, Iª q. 13 a. 5; Contra Gentiles, lib. 1 cap. 32 et cap. 33 et cap. 34; De potentia, q. 7 a. 7]
Cf. McInerny's Aquinas & Analogy and this constructive criticism of it; its ch. 6 is on "Metaphor and Analogy".
cf. also: "Are analogical middle terms sufficient for a valid demonstration?," a distinctive feature of Thomism, and St. Thomas on the three types of predication from his De Principiis Naturæ
More post
- 📝 What is the King James only movement?
- 📝 Has the Catholic Church drawn a parallel between the sleep of Jonah on board the ship and that of Jesus in the boat?
- 📝 Do Latter Day Saints / Mormons consider themselves to be henotheists?
- 📝 Hand Picked Bible Applications
- 📝 When might a Christians consider taking anti-depressants or psychiatric medications?
- 📝 What's a list of theological terms to describe how one approaches the bible?
- 📝 What is the biblical defence used by Anglicans to appoint female vicars/bishops?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, did God create humans to directly perform His Will in the physical world?
- 📝 Could the Tetragrammaton YHWH be an onomatopoeia for the sound of breathing?
- 📝 Did God create the serpent in the Garden of Eden?
- 📝 What are "all things" in "Let all things be tested, keep to what is good"?
- 📝 What has the Holy Spirit taught people after Jesus left?
- 📝 What Biblical justifications are used for having separate denominations?
- 📝 Do Mormons respect the EU "Data Protection Directive" of right of access to personal data?
- 📝 When Paul wrote about Jesus' birth as "born of a woman," did he not contradict the fact that Jesus was "born of a virgin" as Matthew wrote?
- 📝 According to Preterists did "the man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) become manifest before 70AD? If so, who was it?
- 📝 What influence does pietism have on modern-day Lutheranisms?
- 📝 Does the theology of Arians and Jehovah's Witnesses admit that God was at one point ἄλογος?
- 📝 Why do Protestants trust what Paul and Luke wrote 100%?
- 📝 Do Bible translations matter?
- 📝 Explain the last sentence in Matthew 6:34
- 📝 What is a special sign of predestination? (Catholic)
- 📝 Prayer and accepting God's will in Catholicism
- 📝 Catholicism - Is the TULIP Formula more or less true? (Semantics)
- 📝 How does the Catholic church prioritize different sources of information in coming to doctrinal/theological conclusions, and how do they justify that?
- 📝 Should Jewish Christians not work on Saturday or Sunday?
- 📝 What "God's law" is Matthew Henry referring to?
- 📝 In Catholicism, what does it mean for a priest to bless an object or person?
- 📝 Are there any traditions or schools of thought that track Jesus' movements?
- 📝 How did the church calculate Sunday as the day of the resurrection?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Is there any relationship between Aquinas teaching on the analogical knowledge of God and Christ teaching in parables?
- 📝 Are there any writings from the church fathers teaching Original Sin before Augustine?
- 📝 Are there any conflicts between how Jesus is described in the Book of Mormon vs how He is described in the Bible?
- 📝 Is there any ancient or modern connection between the word "sin" and the sport of archery?
- 📝 Are there any differences between Protestant and Catholic theology concerning the distinction between demonic possession from mental illness?
- 📝 Was there any meaningful difference between the terms "presbyter" and "priest" in early Christianity?
- 📝 Is there any connection between the country of origin of Popes and nearby large gatherings of Catholics or Councils?
- 📝 Is there any substantive difference between the verbal reference "second Corinthians" and "two Corinthians"?
- 📝 What is the relationship between Aquinas and Magisterium?
- 📝 Are there any reports of charismatic gifts in operation from the period between the 5th and 17th centuries AD?
- 📝 Are there any Christian scholarly publications on the differences between the nature of humans pre-fall and post-resurrection?
- 📝 Is there any Christian teaching as to where Adam and Eve were sent after their fall from the Garden of Eden?
- 📝 Are there any Christian groups or denominations that make a distinction between the gift of healing and just praying for the sick to get healed?
- 📝 Is there any Biblical Basis for 400 years of silence between Old and New Testament?
- 📝 Are there any examples of sarcasm in the bible?
- 📝 Is there any account of a religious marriage ceremony in the scripture?
- 📝 Are there theological differences between the Greek Orthodox church and the Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox church?
- 📝 Are there any surviving hymns from the Valdensian movement?
- 📝 What is the relationship between the Book of Mormon and the Bible?
- 📝 According to Protestant trinitarians, what is the significance of the father-son relationship between God and Christ?
- 📝 Are there any secular historical references to the natural phenomena that occurred at the crucifixion and resurrection?
- 📝 Are there any English Bible translations whose primary text for the OT is the Septuagint?
- 📝 Is there any evidence for the claim that the Catholic church suppressed translation of Scripture?
- 📝 Are there any Catholic sects which disagree with the sinlessness of Mary?
- 📝 Jonah and the Whale - Is there any scientific proof that it is possible to survive in the belly of whale?
- 📝 What evidence is there that the Chinese script reflects a knowledge of Genesis 1-11?
- 📝 Why is Jesus occasionally referred to as "The Christ"? Is there a different definition between the two?
- 📝 Is there any substance to the claim that Origen supported reincarnation?
- 📝 Is there any biblical support for the Church to allow governments to close churches and prevent public worship?
- 📝 According to LDS (Mormon) teaching, what is the relationship between Jesus and Lucifer?