Scholastic theology assumed faith could be proven rationally to infidels

Evidence

If Catholic doctrine was based on reason, it should be possible to prove it to Jews, heretics, and Muslims through logical exposition and argumentation. For various Christian writers, from Petrus Alfonsi to Roger Bacon and Ramon Llull, logical “necessary reasons” (rationes necessariae) could prove the faith to the infidel. Others did not go so far: Thomas Aquinas affirmed that the faith could be shown not to be contradicted by reason but could not be proven by rational arguments. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1361 (#expands, via linked claim)

The “Franciscan School” stressed a radical difference between “the God of philosophers” and “the God of Christianity”. In the neo-scholastic tradition, belief was systematized and rational. It became a doctrine against the ideologies of the time: modernism, liberalism and socialism. In the Franciscan tradition, belief remained an act and way of life. Belief was more spiritual, affective and active (Van Dam 2006: 174). — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 83 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Not surprisingly, Pascal was not fond of the attempts by many medieval Christian theologians, known as Christian Apologetics, to prove the existence of God by means of reason and evidence. He thought these attempts were misguided and missed the point. He was on to something: apologetics is doomed to failure as a philosophical enterprise because it fails to capture how our minds accept the plausibility of religious belief. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 596 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Scholastic method presupposed Scripture as the supreme authority in all debate; Belief in good faith is a chosen, self-maintained decision rather than an intuition — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 318; Aquinas held faith provable only as non-contradictory, not demonstrable (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Scholastic theology drove attempts to prove Christian faith by rational argument. #expands (0.95) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1361
• Franciscan theology opposed rational systematic belief with affective lived faith #complicates (0.80) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 83
• Rational proofs of God fail because belief acceptance is not reasoned #complicates (0.80) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 596