Scholastic theology drove attempts to prove Christian faith by rational argument.

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

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the distinction between those who thought reason could prove the faith versus Aquinas’s weaker claim that reason only showed it not contradictory.