Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Santorum is a Dunce

Much is being made of the statements by Rick Santorum about him wanting to throw up when he hears separation of church and state. I've heard different commentators saying that his Catholic beliefs are medeival. There is truth in this statement. Santorum and the an element in the Catholic Church have drudged up the 13th century philosopher Duns Scotus 1265-1308 and are espousing his views.
Here is what Thomas B. Costain says in the second book of his Plantagenet series: The Magnificent Century.
Duns Scotus...is claimed by the Irish, but...born somewhere in the border country between England and Scotland earned a place in the front rank of teachers and established a school of thought directly opposed to that of Thomas Acquinas. The antagonism between the two orders fanned the controversy over the beliefs and philosophies of the two men into a blaze of hatred.  Thomas was a constructive thinker; Duns Scotus took the stand... that all men could accept is what revelation had supplied. The Thomists called their opponents Dunces, and the word made a place for intself in the language which would have distressed the eminent doctor if he had lived to realize it.
Okay take out the fancy language to put the difference between the two thinkers is that Saint Thomas Acquinas believed man capable thinking for himself and expanding on the Bible. Scotus was a "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" kind of man.
The followers of Acquinas advanced human thought which ultimately led to the reformation, enlightenment and modern thought. Scotus was Status Quo Ante. If his thought prevailed there would have been intellectual stagnation. Scotus was beatified by Pope John Paul II on March 20, 1993. That kind of tells the tale of an element in the Catholic Church like Rick Santorum wanting to return to medeival times. Remember in the 13th century the Pope could dictate to all political leaders and the feared and trembled. In Santorums latest rant he rebuked and repudiated JFK's speech in support of the 1st ammendment. This guy wants to establish the Catholic Church as the official religion of the United States and what boggles the mind is that Protestant evangelicals are voting for him.




2 comments:

Mysterious man from the Shadows said...

First of all, this is a great post. Very interesting stuff.

Secondly, you might have noticed I appear to have quit following you, but that's only because i got rid of my old account. Rest assured I still read your blog!

P M Prescott said...

As I read yours.