24 July, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Nicene and\nPost-Nicene Fathers<\/em>, St. Augustine, vol. 3, \u201cThe Enchiridion,\u201d p. 239)*:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 4:\nThe Questions Propounded by Laurentius<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is your desire, as you wrote, to have from me a\nbook, a sort of enchiridion<\/em>, as it might be called–something\nto have “at hand”–that deals with your questions. What is to be\nsought after above all else? What, in view of the divers heresies, is to be\navoided above all else? How far does reason support religion; or what happens\nto reason when the issues involved concern faith alone; what is the beginning\nand end of our endeavor? What is the most comprehensive of all explanations?\nWhat is the certain and distinctive foundation of the catholic faith? You would\nhave the answers to all these questions if you really understood what a man\nshould believe, what he should hope for, and what he ought to love. For these\nare the chief things–indeed, the only things–to seek for in religion. He who\nturns away from them is either a complete stranger to the name of Christ or\nelse he is a heretic. Things that arise in sensory experience, or that are\nanalyzed by the intellect, may be demonstrated by the reason. But in matters\nthat pass beyond the scope of the physical senses, which we have not settled by\nour own understanding, and cannot–here we must believe, without hesitation,\nthe witness of those men by whom the Scriptures (rightly called divine) were\ncomposed, men who were divinely aided in their senses and their minds to see\nand even to foresee the things about which they testify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chapter 5:\nBrief Answers to These Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But, as this faith, which works by love, begins to penetrate the soul, it tends, through the vital power of goodness, to change into sight, so that the holy and perfect in heart catch glimpses of that ineffable beauty whose full vision is our highest happiness. Here, then, surely, is the answer to your question about the beginning and the end of our endeavor. We begin in faith, we are perfected in sight. This likewise is the most comprehensive of all explanations. As for the certain and distinctive foundation of the catholic faith, it is Christ. “For other foundation,” said the apostle, “can no man lay save that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus.”\u00a0Nor should it be denied that this is the distinctive basis of the catholic faith, just because it appears that it is common to us and to certain heretics as well. For if we think carefully about the meaning of Christ, we shall see that among some of the heretics who wish to be called Christians, the\u00a0name<\/em>\u00a0of Christ is held in honor, but the reality itself is not among them. To make all this plain would take too long–because we would then have to review all the heresies that have been, the ones that now exist, and those which could exist under the label “Christian,” and we would have to show that what we have said of all is true of each of them. Such a discussion would take so many volumes as to make it seem endless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chapter 6:\nControversy Out of Place in a Handbook Like the Present <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You have asked for an enchiridion<\/em>,\nsomething you could carry around, not just baggage for your bookshelf.\nTherefore we may return to these three ways in which, as we said, God should be\nserved: faith, hope, love. It is easy to say<\/em> what one ought to\nbelieve, what to hope for, and what to love. But to defend our doctrines\nagainst the calumnies of those who think differently is a more difficult and\ndetailed task. If one is to have this wisdom, it is not enough just to put\nan enchiridion<\/em> in the hand. It is also necessary that a great\nzeal be kindled in the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Language is slightly updated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 24 July, 2019 (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, St. Augustine, vol. 3, \u201cThe Enchiridion,\u201d p. 239)*: CHAPTER 4: The Questions Propounded by Laurentius It is your desire, as you wrote, to have from me a book, a sort of enchiridion, as it might be called–something to have “at hand”–that deals with your questions. What is to be sought after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,21,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apologetics","category-political-ministry-of-the-churches-of-god","category-position-papers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2987"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2991,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987\/revisions\/2991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}