Infused and Acquired Faith and the Foundations of Theology

Jeffrey C. Witt (Loyola University Maryland)
https://jeffreycwitt.com | jcwitt@loyola.edu
@jeffreycwitt

April 20, 2022, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Slide Deck: http://jeffreycwitt.com/slides/2022-04-20-infused-acquired-faith-geneva.html

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

"Consequenter notandum, quod multipliciter differunt fides acquisita et infusa" (Biel, Sent III, d. 23, q. 2, a. 1, notabile 2: http://scta.info/resource/gbs333-h54165-d1e1559@1-8)
"Our argument is taken from the authority of the Fathers, who admitted that Scripture and its truth are not certain to us, nor confirmed to us, by any other means than from the testimony of the Holy Spirit." Whitaker, Controversia 1, Quaestio 3, Caput 11 (http://scta.info/resource/wWpoi1-e22395-d1e1896@1-30)

**"If he spoke Latin, I would know what he meant. Yet how would I know whether or not he was telling me the truth?** If I did know this, I could not be sure of it from him. Within me, within the lodging of my thinking, **there would speak a truth which is neither Hebrew nor Greek nor Latin nor any barbarian tongue and which uses neither mouth nor tongue as instruments and utters no audible syllables. It would say: 'What he is saying is true'.** And I being forthwith assured would say with confidence to the man possessed by you: 'What you say is true.'' But since I cannot question him, I ask you who filled him when he declared what is true; you my God I ask. 'Spare my sins'. You have granted to your servant to utter things; grant also to me the power to understand them." (Confessions XI, 3 (Transl. Chadwick))

Whitaker, Controversia 1, Quaestio 3, Caput 11: http://scta.info/resource/wWpoi1-e22395-Qd1e2473

Augustine, Confessions, 11, 3: http://scta.info/resource/aconf-l11-d1e123

figure 1 ||**Material1/Apprehensive**|Formal1/Adjudicative| |------|------|
figure 2 ||Material1/Apprehensive| |------|------| |**Naturally Acquired**|**Moses composes proposition X**|
figure 3 ||Material1/Apprehensive| |------|------| |**Infused**|**Moses receives proposition X**| |Naturally Acquired|Moses composes proposition X|
figure 4 ||Material1/Apprehensive| |------|------| |Infused|Moses receives proposition X| |**Dependent Acquired**|**Moses deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X**| |Naturally Acquired|Moses composes proposition X|
figure 5 ||Material1/Apprehensive|**Formal1/Adjudicative**| |------|------|------| |Infused|Moses receives proposition X|| |Dependent Acquired|Moses deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|| |Naturally Acquired|Moses composes proposition X|**scientific-belief: Moses recognizes or demonstrates the evidentiary truth of proposition X**| |Naturally Acquired|"|**opinion-belief: Moses recognizes probable reasons to think proposition X is more likely true than not**|
figure 6 ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal1/Adjudicative| |------|------|------| |Infused|Moses receives proposition X|| |Dependent Acquired|Moses deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|| |Naturally Acquired|Moses composes proposition X|scientific-belief: Moses recognizes or demonstrates the evidentiary truth of proposition X |Naturally Acquired|"|**faith-belief: Moses assents with scientific certainty while lacking scientific evidence. (Is this naturally possible?)** |Naturally Acquired|"|opinion-belief: Moses recognizes probable reasons to think proposition X is more likely true than not
"if one is to accept the existence of acquired faith, one has to accept that we can naturally be free of doubt." --- Nicolaus Faucher, "What does the Habitus of the Soul do?", (2018) p. 121
"Scotus sets forth a series of arguments **demonstrating objectively** the truth, and therefore, the sufficiency of Scriptures," (Richard Muller, Post -Reformation Dogmatics, v. 2, p. 50)
"...it is through a natural act of the will unaided by grace or by any preceding natural instinct or habitus that we acquire the habitus of faith. Thus, this habitus of faith, at least the acquired one, is reduced to being merely the disposition of the intellect to adhere to the objects of faith. This disposition is extremely strong since by itself it constrains the intellect to assent, independently of any further involvement of the will..." --- Nicolaus Faucher, "What does the Habitus of the Soul do?", (2018) p. 124
figure 7 ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal1/Adjudicative| |------|------|------| |Infused|Moses receives proposition X|**Moses is immediately moved to assent to proposition X**| |Dependent Acquired|Moses deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|| |Naturally Acquired|Moses composes proposition X|scientific-belief: Moses recognizes or demonstrates the evidentiary truth of proposition X |Naturally Acquired|"|faith-belief: Moses assents with scientific certainty while lacking scientific evidence. (Is this naturally possible?) |Naturally Acquired|"|opinion-belief: Moses recognizes probable reasons to think proposition X is more likely true than not
Figure 8 ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal1/Adjudicative| |------|------|------| |Infused|Moses receives proposition X|Moses is immediately moved to assent to proposition X| |Dependent Acquired|Moses deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|**Moses naturally and demonstratively deduces the truth of proposition Y from supernaturally infused belief in the truth of proposition X**| |Dependent Acquired|"|**Moses naturally shows the probability of the truth of proposition Y and using the infused inclination to believe unhesitatingly assents to the truth of Y**| |Naturally Acquired|Moses composes proposition X|scientific-belief: Moses recognizes or demonstrates the evidentiary truth of proposition X| |Naturally Acquired|"|faith-belief: Moses assents with scientific certainty while lacking scientific evidence. (Is this naturally possible?)| |Naturally Acquired|"|opinion-belief: Moses recognizes probable reasons to think proposition X is more likely true than not|
"Theology is an absolutely supernatural habit. For although it is an acquired habit, nevertheless [supernatural/infused] faith is required for its production" --- Frederico Niccolo Gavardi, Theologia Ex Antiquata, Tractatus 1 (Prologus), Quaestio 3, Articulus 9, Paragraph ccc7yd-g18157-d1e11832@4-24 (http://scta.info/resource/ccc7yd-g18157-d1e11832@4-24)
"Therefore theology...is a habit partly natural and partly supernatural" --- Frederico Niccolo Gavardi, Theologia Ex Antiquata, Tractatus 1 (Prologus), Quaestio 3, Articulus 9, Paragraph ccc7yd-g18157-d1e12539@83-95 (http://scta.info/resource/ccc7yd-g18157-d1e12539@83-95)
"The papists say that we believe Scripture from the voice and authority of the Church. I ask therefore what this faith is? Is it acquired or infused? **They call faith acquired which is compared to human persuasion and our own study.** But they call faith infused which the Holy Spirit planted and inspired into our hearts" --- William Whitaker, Disputatio de sacra scriptura contra huius temporis Papistas, Controversia 1, Quaestio 3, Caput 11, Paragraph wWpoi1-e22395-d1e1826@10-46 (http://scta.info/resource/wWpoi1-e22395-d1e1826@10-46)
"If they say acquired…then I say this does not suffice per se, such that we are persuaded with certainty. But in order to believe firmly, an internal infusion of the Spirit is necessary" --- William Whitaker, Disputatio de sacra scriptura contra huius temporis Papistas, Controversia 1, Quaestio 3, Caput 11, Paragraph wWpoi1-e22395-d1e1826 @47-82 (http://scta.info/resource/wWpoi1-e22395-d1e1826@47-82)
"For without infused faith either nothing is necessarily believed, or nothing is able to be persuaded to us with certainty." --- William Whitaker, Disputatio de sacra scriptura contra huius temporis Papistas, Controversia 1, Quaestio 3, Caput 11, wWpoi1-e22395-d1e1896 (http://scta.info/resource/wWpoi1-e22395-Qd1e2645 ) --- Paraphrasing Cano, De locis theologicis, Liber 2, Caput 8, Paragraph Z4Yt34-d1e191-d1e699 (http://scta.info/resource/Z4Yt34-d1e191-d1e699)
Figure 9 ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal1/Adjudicative|**Material2/Apprehensive**|**Formal2/Adjudicative**| |------|------|------|------|------| ||**“Doctus” (Theologus)**|**“Doctus” (Theologus)**|**“Muliercula”**|**“Muliercula"**| |Infused|"Doctus" receives proposition X|"Doctus" is immediately moved to assent to proposition X||| |Dependent Acquired|"Doctus" deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|"Doctus" naturally and demonstratively deduces the truth of proposition Y from a supernaturally infused belief in the truth of proposition X||| |Dependent Acquired|"|"Doctus" naturally shows the probability of the truth of proposition Y and using the infused inclination to believe unhesitatingly assents to the truth of Y||| |Naturally Acquired|"|||| |Naturally Acquired|"|||| |Naturally Acquired|"||||
Figure 10 A ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal/Adjudicative|Material2/Apprehensive|Formal2/Adjudicative| |------|------|------|------|------| ||“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Muliercula”|“Muliercula"| |Infused|"Doctus" receives proposition X|"Doctus" is immediately moved to assent to proposition X||**(interior efficient cause) It is true that: “These people represent the church and what the church says is true”**| |Dependent Acquired|"Doctus" deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|"Doctus" naturally and demonstratively deduces the truth of proposition Y from a supernaturally infused belief in the truth of proposition X||| |Dependent Acquired|"|"Doctus" naturally shows the probability of the truth of proposition Y and using the infused inclination to believe unhesitatingly assents to the truth of Y||| |Naturally Acquired|"||**These people represent the church and what the church says is true**|| |Naturally Acquired|"|||| |Naturally Acquired|"||||
Figure 10 B ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal/Adjudicative|Material2/Apprehensive|Formal2/Adjudicative| |------|------|------|------|------| ||“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Muliercula”|“Muliercula"| |Infused|"Doctus" receives proposition X|"Doctus" is immediately moved to assent to proposition X||**(interior efficient cause)**| |Dependent Acquired|"Doctus" deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|"Doctus" naturally and demonstratively deduces the truth of proposition Y from a supernaturally infused belief in the truth of proposition X||| |Dependent Acquired|"|"Doctus" naturally shows the probability of the truth of proposition Y and using the infused inclination to believe unhesitatingly assents to the truth of Y||**There are good probable reasons to see these people as authoritative, I'm also supernaturally inclined to believe this, therefore I believe that “These people represent the church and what the church says is true”**| |Naturally Acquired|"||**These people represent the church and what the church says is true**|| |Naturally Acquired|"|||| |Naturally Acquired|"||||
Figure 11A ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal/Adjudicative|Material2/Apprehensive|Formal2/Adjudicative| |------|------|------|------|------| ||“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Muliercula”|“Muliercula"| |Infused|"Doctus" receives proposition X|"Doctus" is immediately moved to assent to proposition X||(interior efficient cause) It is true that: “These people represent the church and what the church says is true **(object type 1)**”| |Dependent Acquired|"Doctus" deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|"Doctus" naturally and demonstratively deduces the truth of proposition Y from a supernaturally infused belief in the truth of proposition X||I supernaturally believe that what the Church says is true **(object type 1)** and I naturally heard the church preach Y, therefore I naturally deduce that Y is true **(object type 2)**| |Dependent Acquired|"|"Doctus" naturally shows the probability of the truth of proposition Y and using the infused inclination to believe unhesitatingly assents to the truth of Y||| |Naturally Acquired|"||These people represent the church and what the church says is true, **and the church preaches that Y is true (object type 2)**|| |Naturally Acquired|"|||| |Naturally Acquired|"||||
Figure 11B ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal/Adjudicative|Material2/Apprehensive|Formal2/Adjudicative| |------|------|------|------|------| ||“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Muliercula”|“Muliercula"| |Infused|"Doctus" receives proposition X|"Doctus" is immediately moved to assent to proposition X||(interior efficient cause)| |Dependent Acquired|"Doctus" deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|"Doctus" naturally and demonstratively deduces the truth of proposition Y from a supernaturally infused belief in the truth of proposition X||| |Dependent Acquired|"|"Doctus" naturally shows the probability of the truth of proposition Y and using the infused inclination to believe unhesitatingly assents to the truth of Y||There are good probable reasons to see these people as authoritative, and I'm also supernaturally inclined to believe this, therefore I believe that "These people represent the church" **(object type 1)**, and further, since the Church says proposition Y is true, I deduced that proposition Y is true **(object type 2)** | |Naturally Acquired|"||These people represent the church and what the church says is true, **and the church preaches that Y is true (object type 2)**|| |Naturally Acquired|"|||| |Naturally Acquired|"||||
"It should also be understood that there is a doctrine of faith necessary for each person [object type 1] which in some way is known to each person per se, if they have the Spirit remaining in them". --- Melchior Cano, De locis theologicis, Liber 2, Caput 8, Paragraph Z4Yt34-d1e191-d1e155 @ 57-75 (http://scta.info/resource/Z4Yt34-d1e191-d1e155@57-75 )
"But there is also a doctrine which is not necessary for the faith in each individual [object type 2], but are things pertaining to the common utility of the church. These are things not immediately known by the good people having the spirit and unction of God." --- Melchior Cano, De locis theologicis, Liber 2, Caput 8, Paragraph Z4Yt34-d1e191-d1e155 @ 76-103 (http://scta.info/resource/Z4Yt34-d1e191-d1e155@76-103 )
Figure 12 ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal/Adjudicative|Material2/Apprehensive|Formal2/Adjudicative| |------|------|------|------|------| ||“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Muliercula”|“Muliercula"| |Infused|"Doctus" receives proposition X|"Doctus" is immediately moved to assent to proposition X||(interior efficient cause) It is true that: “These people represent the church and what the church says is true”| |Dependent Acquired|"Doctus" deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|"Doctus" naturally and demonstratively deduces the truth of proposition Y from a supernaturally infused belief in the truth of proposition X||I supernaturally believe that what the Church says is true (object type 1) and I naturally heard the church preach Y (**these books are canonical**), therefore I naturally deduce that Y (**‘the fact that these books are canonical’**) is true (object type 2)| |Dependent Acquired|"|"Doctus" naturally shows the probability of the truth of proposition Y and using the infused inclination to believe unhesitatingly assents to the truth of Y||| |Naturally Acquired|"||These people represent the church and what the church says is true And The church preaches that Y **(these books are canonical)** is true|| |Naturally Acquired|"|||| |Naturally Acquired|"||||
"But since this question about the number of canonical books does not concern everyone, but should be referred to the learned men in the church, it follows that for knowing whether this book or that is canonical, it is not sufficient to have unction. For unction does not teach everyone about all things, but to some, only about those things which are proper and necessary." --- Melchior Cano, De locis theologicis, Liber 2, Caput 8, Paragraph Z4Yt34-d1e191-d1e155@162-215 (http://scta.info/resource/Z4Yt34-d1e191-d1e155@162-215)
"The truths of the catholic church, without any approval of the Church are from nature immutable and true things" --- William Whitaker, Disputatio de sacra scriptura contra huius temporis Papistas, Controversia 1, Quaestio 3, Caput 11, wWpoi1-e22395-d1e1896 (http://scta.info/resource/wWpoi1-e22395-Qd1e2600 ) --- Gabriel Biel, Commentarius in Libros Sententiarum, Liber 3, Distinctio 25, Quaestio 1, Paragraph gbs333-h59932-d1e2582 @ 74-90 (http://scta.info/resource/gbs333-h59932-d1e2582@74-90 )
"The Church is not able to have thought or declared these articles in any other way than as they are.” --- Stapleton, Avthoritatis Ecclesiasticae Circa S. Scriptvrarvm Approbationem (Antwerp, 1592, p. 804)
"to believe the holy catholic church is to believe that it has holy, truly, and without error approved what it has approved, and consequently, it is to believe all the things approved by this church. But it has approved the entire canon of scripture." --- Stapleton, Avthoritatis Ecclesiasticae Circa S. Scriptvrarvm Approbationem (Antwerp, 1592, p. 805) --- Gabriel Biel, Commentarius in Libros Sententiarum, Liber 3, Distinctio 25, Quaestio 1, Paragraph gbs333-h59932-d1e2340@81-104 (http://scta.info/resource/gbs333-h59932-d1e2340@81-104)
Figure 13 ||Material1/Apprehensive|Formal/Adjudicative|Material2/Apprehensive|Formal2/Adjudicative| |------|------|------|------|------| ||“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Doctus” (Theologus)|“Muliercula”|“Muliercula"| |Infused|"Doctus" receives proposition X||||| |Dependent Acquired|"Doctus" deduces proposition Y from infused proposition X|||| |Dependent Acquired|"|||| |Naturally Acquired|||These people represent the church and what the church says is true, and the church preaches that Y is true|| |Naturally Acquired|"|faith-belief: **"Doctus" chooses with a natural choice of the will to acquire a believing disposition and, coupled with probable reasons, believes that this authority tells the truth about proposition X and then deduces Y, and then preaches that proposition Y is true**||faith-belief: **I choose with a natural choice of the will to acquire a believing disposition and coupled with probable reasons assent without doubt that these people represent the Church and what it says is true and therefore proposition Y is true**| |Naturally Acquired|"||||
The End :)