Religious Epistemology

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How can the humblest among us invert traditional hierarchies by sensing truth through deep faith? Lessons on the Eucharist deepen our sense of God living within us while trusting God’s Word secures belief in His power. Hear the call to reflect on these ideas to see your own journey to God from a fresh perspective.

The comprehensive and systematic character of Thomas Aquinas’ thought has for centuries informed inquiry into questions of human dignity, freedom, economic development, work, poverty, the environment, and other issues of global significance. Celebrate the 800th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Aquinas, exploring the ongoing importance of his thought to contemporary cultural, philosophical, and theological discussions. In gathering many of the most accomplished contemporary scholars of Aquinas’ thought from throughout the world working on themes in Ethics, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Anthropology, Political Theory, Christology, Trinitarian Theology, Sacramental Theology and Ecclesiology, among others, this series promotes fruitful interchange of diverse perspectives on the importance of Aquinas in the world today.

The “Aquinas at 800” conference marks a definitive moment in the dialogue between classical scholasticism and the modern academy. At the University of Notre Dame, the “Theology: Religious Epistemology” panel investigated how the thought of the Common Doctor remains a vital strategic resource for reconciling the certainty of faith with the rigors of reason. By revisiting the Thomistic framework, the panelists demonstrated that faith is not a subjective sentiment but a structured participation in Divine Wisdom.

The Wisdom of the Simple
Noah Krueger interrogated the “pedagogical hierarchy” of faith, traditionally seen as a unidirectional flow from the learned to the simple. However, Krueger illuminated a profound “inversion of wisdom” within the Thomistic corpus. He argued that the simple can teach the learned through “subjective greatness”—the depth of their habituation to grace. Crucially, Krueger identified an “apophatic capacity” in the simple: much as a temperate person instinctively recoils from luxury, the faithful person possesses an “inclination to the contrary” regarding heresy. By providing a sensible exemplum of lived truth, the simple remind the learned that the telos of all sacred science is humble union with the Divine.

Eucharistic Assimilation
Dr. Daniel Gordon shifted the focus toward the sacramental and trinitarian dimensions of knowledge. Utilizing the concept of “instrumental causality,” he explored how the Eucharist serves as spiritual food that, unlike physical nourishment, changes the eater into itself. Gordon employed the Augustinian distinction between the “use” (usus) of temporal means and the “enjoyment” (fruitio) of the eternal End. This assimilation is specifically trinitarian; through the gratia gratum faciens (grace that makes pleasing), the believer is Likened to the Son through faith and the Spirit through charity. This culminates in sapida scientia—a “savory knowledge” that allows for a formal, experiential participation in the Divine life.

The Justification of Belief
Dr. Mats Wahlberg addressed the epistemic foundations of faith through a “Testimonial Interpretation,” specifically engaging the formal object of faith. He contrasted this model with the “Reliabilism” of Ross and Stump and the “Supernatural Externalism” of John Jenkins. Wahlberg argued that while externalist models rely on a supernatural “design plan,” his testimonial model posits that the mere fact of Divine Testimony constitutes sufficient objective justification. To maintain intellectual rigor, he introduced “doxastic responsibility”—the requirement that the believer remain rationally sensitive to their epistemic environment. Faith, thus, is an act of the intellect moved by the will, anchored in the supreme reliability of the Divine Speaker rather than internal wishful thinking.

These three perspectives form a unified vision: a journey toward God that is modeled by the humble, realized through sacramental union, and justified by the authority of the Word.

The Inversion of Meritocracy through Subjective Greatness: While the “learned” possess objective doctrinal expertise, the “simple” often possess a superior subjective participation in the life of grace. For the modern professional, this challenges the secular meritocracy of “expertise,” suggesting that spiritual “knowing” and the ability to discern truth often reside in lived integrity rather than mere technical mastery.
Sacramental Instrumental Causality: The Eucharist is not merely a symbolic ritual but an efficacious instrument of “graced assimilation.” This redefines religious practice for the student as a foundational event where the human person is radically reordered and “changed into” the likeness of Christ, rather than God being reduced to human categories.
Trinitarian Indwelling as Sapida Scientia: Spiritual growth is the transition from knowing about God to the fruitio (enjoyment) of the Divine Persons. This “savory knowledge” implies that as one progresses in charity, the Trinity dwells within as a known and loved object, transforming abstract dogma into an experienced reality of the Son’s wisdom and the Spirit’s love.
Divine Testimony as an Epistemic Anchor: The primary justification for faith is the objective authority of God who speaks—the Veritas Prima. This provides a more robust anchor than naturalist or purely internalist models, as it asserts that the ultimate foundation of truth lies in the supreme reliability of the Divine Source, accessible through the “Testimonial Interpretation.”
Doxastic Responsibility in a Post-Truth Era: A rational faith requires being “doxastically responsible”—exercising vigilance against deception while evaluating beliefs in light of available information. For the modern thinker, this ensures that the act of faith remains a virtuous exercise of the intellect rather than blind gullibility, maintaining high intellectual dignity in a complex information environment.

“The simple teach the learned that God cannot be adequately captured in a linear human hierarchy, even if that hierarchy be true and good.” — Noah Krager
“God sometimes gives higher beings a lower office and lower beings a higher office, and he does so to display his power and his glory.” — Noah Krager
“Spiritual food is not converted into the one who eats, but the one who eats is changed into it.” — Dr. Daniel Gordon
“By the grace that makes pleasing, the whole Trinity dwells in the mind… the Divine person himself is given.” — Dr. Daniel Gordon
“What justifies the person’s ascent to the Christian message… is that it is based on Divine testimony, which as such is supremely reliable.” — Dr. Mats Wahlberg