An Exploration into Classical Theism, Part 1: Introduction

I’ve received a number of requests to give a secular analysis of a philosophical tradition known as Classical Theism. I was initially hesitant to get too involved in this stuff, due to the relatively minor influence it carries in mainstream media. By far, Protestant Evangelical Christianity is the dominant force within American politics and culture, so it seemed kind of pointless to pick on a such a fringe group. However, as I exposed myself to more of their literature, I began to realize that this community indeed carries weight over a significant number of believing Christians. It also appears that the secular community has done very little to break down their arguments for a lay audience. The sheer immensity of it all can come off as quite intimidating to a doubting Christian youth, and there are likely many millions of them being manipulated by the destructive ideas it teaches. So for better or for worse, I’ve finally committed myself to a detailed analysis of classical theism, as well as a thorough debunking of their more popular arguments.

For those of you who have never heard of classical theism, it is an ancient philosophical tradition that defines God as the ultimate being. He is not a thing in the universe, per se, nor is He a person in the strictest sense. Rather, God exists as a kind of ipsum esse subsistens, which is generally described with bizarre phrases like “the subsistent act of to be itself [1].” It is arguably one of the first failings of the entire tradition, in that it cannot even define "God" in coherent terms. Their literature is teeming with similar bits of nonsensical gibberish, too, and I'll have a lot more to say on this later. Suffice to say, it's the sort of language that sounds deep and intellectual at first, but fundamentally doesn't mean anything.

The most commonly cited opposition to classical theism is a view known as theistic personalism. Under personalism, God is a being who exists as a thing in reality with various parts coming together into one, divine whole [2]. It's the sort of distinction that, from a purely secular perspective, almost feels like a gigantic exercise in hair-splitting, and very little of this stuff seems to have relevance to the average, pew-sitting Christian. Nevertheless, the classical theists are extremely adamant about these sorts of things, and there is a strong community of PhD theologians who love to debate about it from their ivory towers.

In principle, classical theism is a highly nuanced philosophy with many competing schools of thought among prominent theologians. In practice, however, anyone who honestly cares enough to personally identify with the label of “classical theist” will almost universally be Catholic. Indeed, the Catholic church has openly embraced classical theism as its official doctrine, and the debate against theistic personalism is apparently just a squabble between Catholics and Protestants. So if you ever get the impression that classical theists have a bit of chip on their shoulder, then this seems to explain why.

Another recurring theme in the classical theist community is the universal veneration they seem to have for St. Thomas Aquinas. The very word Thomism even refers directly to the collective philosophical views of Aquinas himself, and I have yet to encounter a single living classical theist who wasn’t also a Thomist. It’s hard to overstate the adoration this community seems to have for the guy. After listening to the classical theists, you get the impression that Thomas Aquinas was the greatest embodiment of pure, philosophical genius who ever graced God’s green Earth. This is hardly surprising, however, once you realize that the Catholic church has formally accepted the writing of Aquinas as its own, second only in significance to the Holy Bible itself [3]. Thus, for all practical purposes, the terms classical theism, Thomism, and Catholicism may as well all be synonymous with each other, and you can pretty much use them interchangeably without much confusion.

At this point, my initial reaction towards the philosophy of classical theism was an overpowering sense of boredom. Perhaps some of you are even feeling it right now. I genuinely do not care about the subtle distinctions between Catholic and Protestant theology, and it’s not like these dudes are winning any popularity contests. According to survey after survey, American religiosity has been steadily declining since the 1990s, and it shows no sign of stopping any time soon [4]. The Catholic church is hemorrhaging members at a record pace, so why even bother with yet another analysis of a bunch of convoluted rhetorical arguments?

 

Despite their decline in overall relevance, I think it is important to remember that the Catholic church is still a highly potent force in American politics and culture. They also continue to hold huge sway internationally, enjoying total dominance over entire continents like Central and South America. They claim over a billion members on their roles worldwide, and significant growth appears to be happening in both Africa and Asia. I find it hard to shake the image of so many poor classrooms full of naive Catholic youth being forced to sit through yet another uncomfortable tirade about the evils of masturbation, or yet another cover-up of sexual misconduct in the clergy [5]. There almost certainly exist millions of trapped youth who struggle to find the right words for articulating their doubts, and it is blogs like this that often give them the resources to break free.

So to all of you doubting young Catholics, just hang in there. This series is for you.

Continue to Part 2.

Notes/References

1. Bishop Barron on Who God Is & Who God Isn't (2013) [link]
   
2. Edward Feser, "Distinguishing Classical Theism from Theistic Personalism" [link]
   
3. “Thomism,” New World Encyclopedia (2020) [link]
   
4. “In US, Decline of Christianity Continues at a Rapid Pace,” Pew Research Center (2019) [link]
5. "Catholic clergy in France abused more than 10,000 child victims, independent commission estimates," The Washington Post (March, 2021) [link]