The Seventy's Course in Theology, Third Year / The Doctrine of Deity

by B. H. Roberts

Footnotes

[1]. For a brief account of the Arian controversy which resulted in the formulation of this creed, see notes in Year Book II, Lesson xxxvii; also note 3, this Lesson.

LESSON XXVII.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

MEDIAEVAL CONCEPTIONS OF GOD.

ANALYSIS.	REFERENCES.
I. The Mediaeval Period and Schools of Thought.	The works cited in Lessons xxv and xxvi will be helpful in this Lesson under the topics of the analysis; and of course the authorities cited in the notes of this lesson.
II. Definitions.
III. Representative Doctors of the Various Schools of Thought: 1. Erigena, Extreme Realist. 2. Roscelina, of Compiegne, Extreme Nominalist. 3. Anselm, Realist. 4. Thomas Aquinas, Properly Neither Realist nor Nominalist, Scholastic. 5. Eckhart, Mystic.

SPECIAL TEXT: "And without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness." I. Tim. iii, 16.

NOTES.

1. The Mediaeval Period: The Patristic Period, according to our announced grouping of the Christian Fathers, extended to 750 A. D. and included in the enumeration of the fathers John of Damascus. The Mediaeval Period will extend from the above date to the middle of the sixteenth century, which brings us to the establishment of Protestantism, and the commencement, theologically, of the modern world. This gives us a period of eight hundred years. "Of this period," says Shedd, "not more than four centuries witnessed any great activity of the theological mind."

The "Orthodox Christian" doctrine of God for this period, and for matter of that, for all subsequent periods, was fixed by the Nicene Creed and the creed of St. Athanasius, quoted in Lesson 26. The effort of the Christian scholars of the Mediaeval Period was to maintain, first, the truthfulness of these creeds against skepticism and doubts within the Church itself; and, second, to reconcile the creeds with reason, and develop patristic philosophy into something like system (History of Philosophy—Elmendorf—p. 102). However, "As there is never a proper end to reasoning which proceeds on a false foundation," to quote Cicero, the efforts of the schoolmen were not very successful, and resulted in multiplying systems of philosophy, rather than in bringing the patristic doctrine into harmony with reason. The systems of thought developed by these efforts may be classed under three heads: Realism, Nominalism, and Mysticism. A brief definition of each will be necessary.