Sect. 44The Supreme Certitude of FaithThe Supreme Certitude of Faith
I. Faith requires the fullest assent, excluding every doubt and every fear of deception, and including the fullest conviction that what is believed cannot be other than true. No other faith answers to the excellence and force of God’s infallible truth. Faith is thus essentially different from mere opinion without certitude, and also from so-called practical or moral certitude. The certitude of Faith, as regards the firmness of assent, is essentially higher and more perfect than the certitude of science. The motive of Faith, which is the authority of God, is more trustworthy than the light of our reason, by which we obtain scientific certitude. We are bound therefore to reject unconditionally any doubts or difficulties arising from the exercise of our reason. As theologians say, the certainty of Faith is supreme, surmounting all doubts and rising above all other certainties (certitudo super omnia). The Vatican Council, as we have seen, declares Faith to be a complete submission of the mind, consisting in the perfect subjugation of the created intellect to the uncreated Truth. And the council also enjoins the unconditional rejection of any scientific inquiry at variance with the Faith (sess. iii. c. 4).
II. In order to understand this, a threefold distinction must be made.
1. The supreme certitude of Faith is appreciative in its nature—that is to say, it includes and results from a supreme appreciation of its motive, but is not necessarily felt more vividly than any other certitude. As a rule, this certitude is felt even less vividly than human certitude based upon unimpeachable evidence.
2. The supreme firmness of Faith must likewise be distinguished from the incapability of being shaken which belongs to evident human knowledge.
3. That the certitude of Faith is supreme does not imply that all other certitude is untrustworthy, or that we must be ready to resist evident human certitude apparently conflicting with the Faith. A real conflict between Faith and reason is impossible.
III. The high degree of certitude which belongs to the act of Faith is attained and completed by means of the supernatural light of Faith which pervades all the elements of the act. This light, being, as it were, a ray of the Divine Light, participates in the Divine infallibility and cannot but illumine the truth. The certitude produced by it is therefore Divine in every respect, and so absolutely infallible that a real act of Faith can never have falsehood for its subject-matter. This has been defined by the Vatican Council, repeating the definition of the Fifth Lateran Council: “Every assertion contrary to enlightened Faith (illuminatæ fidei, i.e. Faith produced by Divine illumination) we define to be altogether false” (sess. iii., chap. 4). The words “illuminatæ fidei” signify the Faith as it is produced in the believer, as distinct from the external objective proposition of revealed truth, and also as distinct from the act of human faith. In like manner the Council of Trent states that Faith affords a certitude which cannot have falsehood for its subject-matter (cui non potest subesse falsum). The light of Faith cannot be misapplied to belief in error; nevertheless it is possible for man to mistake an act of natural faith in a supposed revelation for a supernatural act elicited by the aid of the light of Faith. Some external criterion is needed whereby we may distinguish the one from the other. Such a criterion is supplied by the Faith of the Church, which cannot err. Catholic Faith carries with it the consciousness that it is Divine Faith produced by Divine light, whereas the self-made faith of Protestants cannot assert itself as Divine without leading to fanaticism.
IV. The supreme certitude of Faith implies that we must have the will to remain true to the Faith without doubt or denial, and the firm conviction that it can never be given up on account of its turning out to be false. Hence, every act of Faith is an irreformable act, and possesses a certitude that cannot be shaken. Faith can, however, be destroyed by an abuse of our free-will. Again, we are bound to reform faith which is erroneously thought to be Divine but is applied by mistake to propositions not revealed by God. The Vatican Council, after declaring how God co-operates in the acceptance of Faith and in perseverance therein, concludes thus: “Wherefore the condition of those who have by the heavenly gift of Faith cleaved to Catholic truth is by no means on a footing with the condition of those who, led by human opinions, follow a false religion; for those who have received the Faith under the teaching of the Church can never have any just cause for changing or calling the Faith in doubt” (sess. iii., chap. 3). And in Canon 6, directed against the doctrines of Hermes, the council enacts, “If any one shall say that the condition of the Faithful is on a footing with that of those who have not yet reached the one true Faith, so that Catholics can have just cause for calling in doubt the Faith which they have received under the Church’s teaching, until they shall have completed a scientific demonstration of the truth and credibility of their Faith, let him be anathema.” Every one who embraces the Catholic Faith binds himself most strictly to adhere to it for ever. “I promise most constantly to retain and confess the same [Faith] entire and inviolate, by God’s help, to the last breath of my life” (Creed of Pius IV.). No excuse can be made for any breach of fidelity, except on the score of ignorance. Every doubt against the Faith must unhesitatingly be rejected as sinful.
I. Faith requires the fullest assent, excluding every doubt and every fear of deception, and including the fullest conviction that what is believed cannot be other than true. No other faith answers to the excellence and force of God’s infallible truth. Faith is thus essentially different from mere opinion without certitude, and also from so-called practical or moral certitude. The certitude of Faith, as regards the firmness of assent, is essentially higher and more perfect than the certitude of science. The motive of Faith, which is the authority of God, is more trustworthy than the light of our reason, by which we obtain scientific certitude. We are bound therefore to reject unconditionally any doubts or difficulties arising from the exercise of our reason. As theologians say, the certainty of Faith is supreme, surmounting all doubts and rising above all other certainties (certitudo super omnia). The Vatican Council, as we have seen, declares Faith to be a complete submission of the mind, consisting in the perfect subjugation of the created intellect to the uncreated Truth. And the council also enjoins the unconditional rejection of any scientific inquiry at variance with the Faith (sess. iii. c. 4).
II. In order to understand this, a threefold distinction must be made.
1. The supreme certitude of Faith is appreciative in its nature—that is to say, it includes and results from a supreme appreciation of its motive, but is not necessarily felt more vividly than any other certitude. As a rule, this certitude is felt even less vividly than human certitude based upon unimpeachable evidence.
2. The supreme firmness of Faith must likewise be distinguished from the incapability of being shaken which belongs to evident human knowledge.
3. That the certitude of Faith is supreme does not imply that all other certitude is untrustworthy, or that we must be ready to resist evident human certitude apparently conflicting with the Faith. A real conflict between Faith and reason is impossible.
III. The high degree of certitude which belongs to the act of Faith is attained and completed by means of the supernatural light of Faith which pervades all the elements of the act. This light, being, as it were, a ray of the Divine Light, participates in the Divine infallibility and cannot but illumine the truth. The certitude produced by it is therefore Divine in every respect, and so absolutely infallible that a real act of Faith can never have falsehood for its subject-matter. This has been defined by the Vatican Council, repeating the definition of the Fifth Lateran Council: “Every assertion contrary to enlightened Faith (illuminatæ fidei, i.e. Faith produced by Divine illumination) we define to be altogether false” (sess. iii., chap. 4). The words “illuminatæ fidei” signify the Faith as it is produced in the believer, as distinct from the external objective proposition of revealed truth, and also as distinct from the act of human faith. In like manner the Council of Trent states that Faith affords a certitude which cannot have falsehood for its subject-matter (cui non potest subesse falsum). The light of Faith cannot be misapplied to belief in error; nevertheless it is possible for man to mistake an act of natural faith in a supposed revelation for a supernatural act elicited by the aid of the light of Faith. Some external criterion is needed whereby we may distinguish the one from the other. Such a criterion is supplied by the Faith of the Church, which cannot err. Catholic Faith carries with it the consciousness that it is Divine Faith produced by Divine light, whereas the self-made faith of Protestants cannot assert itself as Divine without leading to fanaticism.
IV. The supreme certitude of Faith implies that we must have the will to remain true to the Faith without doubt or denial, and the firm conviction that it can never be given up on account of its turning out to be false. Hence, every act of Faith is an irreformable act, and possesses a certitude that cannot be shaken. Faith can, however, be destroyed by an abuse of our free-will. Again, we are bound to reform faith which is erroneously thought to be Divine but is applied by mistake to propositions not revealed by God. The Vatican Council, after declaring how God co-operates in the acceptance of Faith and in perseverance therein, concludes thus: “Wherefore the condition of those who have by the heavenly gift of Faith cleaved to Catholic truth is by no means on a footing with the condition of those who, led by human opinions, follow a false religion; for those who have received the Faith under the teaching of the Church can never have any just cause for changing or calling the Faith in doubt” (sess. iii., chap. 3). And in Canon 6, directed against the doctrines of Hermes, the council enacts, “If any one shall say that the condition of the Faithful is on a footing with that of those who have not yet reached the one true Faith, so that Catholics can have just cause for calling in doubt the Faith which they have received under the Church’s teaching, until they shall have completed a scientific demonstration of the truth and credibility of their Faith, let him be anathema.” Every one who embraces the Catholic Faith binds himself most strictly to adhere to it for ever. “I promise most constantly to retain and confess the same [Faith] entire and inviolate, by God’s help, to the last breath of my life” (Creed of Pius IV.). No excuse can be made for any breach of fidelity, except on the score of ignorance. Every doubt against the Faith must unhesitatingly be rejected as sinful.
Seção 15% da obra, de A Manual of Catholic Theology (Wilhelm & Scannell, sobre a Dogmatik de Scheeben). Ver o original.