instruere...inlustrare...delectare Disputations

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Settling disputes

The commentary on my previous post prompts me to record the following heuristic that can be applied to any disputed theological question:
  1. If the Jesuits and the Dominicans agree, then they're right.
  2. If the Jesuits and the Dominicans disagree, then the Jesuits are wrong.
  3. If the Dominicans are wrong, someone misinterpreted St. Thomas.
The "someone" in step 3 seems usually to be BaƱez, poor fellow, although I've seen John of St. Thomas get it in the neck once or twice. That's the problem with being the Master of your generation: your mistakes live on under your name, while your true contributions become simply what everyone knows.

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