Two Views on Thomas Aquinas For Evangelicals

Over at The Gospel Coalition yesterday, they posted two essays on Thomas Aquinas.

The first (that I saw), was by K. Scott Oliphint and suggested Aquinas is a shaky foundation:

Thomas Aquinas is among the top philosophical theologians in the history of the church. His genius cannot be doubted. His significant influence extends, not simply to the Roman Catholic Church, but into many aspects of the Reformation as well. Like so many in church history, Thomas wears neither a black hat nor a white hat, but a grey hat. How dark or light the grey is depends on a complex multitude of factors.

As a counterpoint, Gerald R. McDermott suggested Aquinas could be very helpful to evangelicals:

There are many, many other ways in which a deep reading of Aquinas can be of immense help to evangelicals. He speaks with strange depth and insight to current questions of how to talk about God, what we can and cannot know about God, what virtues are peculiarly Christian and which are not, what it means to be holy and happy, the meaning of the Incarnation, and much, much more.

I’ve wanted to get into Aquinas a bit more myself, and if you’re looking for a good introduction, Peter Kreeft’s A Summa of The Summa is a good place to start. If you’re interested in the essential philosophical passages in Aquinas’ magisterial Summa Theologica, then this eBook (also courtesy Peter Kreeft and a shortened version of the previous link) is for you: A Shorter Summa.

If I do any reading, you can be sure I’ll have thoughts to share!