The 60-Second Aquinas
Lesson
The Truth of Faith
December 30, 1998
"Nothing false can come under faith."
What a ludicrous statement that is! Not really. It seems ludicrous to suggest that nothing false can come under faith because we have so many examples of those who believe something completely false.
There are cults who believe they will be taken up in spaceships. There are those who believe in powers of magic and in reincarnation. There are those who believe there is no God and call their atheism a system of unbelief.
Then how can Aquinas state that "nothing false can come under faith" (ST II-II, Q. 1, Art. 3)?
The object of faith is the First Truth, which is God. You’ll remember that Aquinas said our actions are led by their intended ends. Similarly, faith is led by the end – God:
"Nothing comes under any power, habit or act, except by means of the formal aspect of the object: thus color cannot be seen except by means of light" (ibid.). Since the object of faith is the First Truth, faith is led by truth.
Now, as for the believers of falsehoods, they are deceived not by God but by "human conjecture":
"It is possible for a believer to have a false opinion through a human conjecture, but it is quite impossible for a false opinion to be the outcome of faith" (ibid).
Explanation of The 60-Second Aquinas Lesson
