his approach was wrong; scholasticism
Could you be more specific? What element is just plain wrong? Is it the question-answer format? Penetrating reason? Theological synthesis into a textbook? Subtle distinctions? Use of a pagan philosopher? Or is Aristotle wrong? Please mention which one. If it is none of these in particular but the combined weight, then St Thomas' approach is not "wrong" per se, because no element constitutes a wrong approach. Though I would agree that the combined weight of these elements creates a tedious academic textbook, rather than a catechesis into the sacred mysteries, and as such, it is irrelevant to those who are not "of the schools" (scholastics). We must keep his purpose in mind. Those questions that we see in the Summa are what students would ask him; then Thomas would respond with an "On the contrary" and "I answer that" and "Replies to objections." We must keep his work in the context of the medieval university, where all these questions have been posed, and St Thomas is attempting to offer the right answers. This was not some independent project; if it is viewed as such then it will seem offbeat.
Let us recall the scholasticism that dominated the Russian church in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Lol, some of those Russian theologians went further than St Thomas and, with the help of elaborate philosophical exercises, developed an enormous tradition of their own. One thing I recall off hand is that some of them, with the ideas of "form" and "matter" etc of a sacrament, said that in the sacrament of marriage, the priest dispenses grace to the two people, and thus the priest himself ratifies the marriage. This is HIGH sacramentalism. In the Roman scholastic tradition, the "sacrament" of marriage takes place between the two people, the priest is a mere witness to it, and he is not needed for the marriage to be valid. This is just an example. Of course the Russians have repented of their scholasticism of late. But it was almost as powerful in the Orthodox church as it was in the Catholic.
Most of our theologians might merit to be thrown out the window. But St Paul tells us to "hold on to the good." St Thomas was one person who stood out above the rest. So we keep him as a witness to our tradition, the expression of which varies from age to age, from place to place, whether among peasants who are satisfied with the Jesus Prayer, or among great intellectuals of the schools who want to grapple with Aristotle.
Grace and Peace,
PaulRomuald
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