Religion and Culture in Aquinas a lecture by Gilles Mongeau, SJ (Regis College, University of Toronto)

The Centre for Advanced Research in European Philosophy at King's is pleased to present  a lecture by Dr. Gilles Mongeau, SJ (Regis College, University of Toronto) titled “Religion and Culture in Aquinas”.


Date: Thursday March 1, 2012 at 3:30pm
Location: Desmond Dutrizac Boardroom, Dante Lenardon Hall, Room 112

Abstract

What does it mean to understand a theological classic such as the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas as a concrete mediation of culture and the Christian religion? Aquinas’ notion of theology as wisdom, which is so important to his theological achievement, depends on his understanding of mediation. The rapid development of cities as a result of political and agricultural development in the eleventh century, and the consequent importance of the urban mercantile economy to political rulers, led to huge cultural and demographic shifts in medieval society. As rural Christianity broke down in the face of the concrete moral, religious and cultural challenges presented by the new urban environment, its moral and spiritual limits were exposed. Understanding the theology of Thomas Aquinas as a concrete instance of the mediation of religion and culture leads us to a grasp of the text as a dynamic spiritual pedagogy employing rhetorical, poetic and intellectualist elements to promote the development of a new kind of pastoral agent for the High Middle Ages. Such a textual reading verifies the historical findings of scholars such as Leonard Boyle and Jean-Pierre Torrell, and connects with the recent work of Joseph Wawrykow in medieval sapiential theologies. It corrects the modern misreading of the Summa as a collection of self-contained logical arguments.