![Image](https://web.archive.org/web/20230205061210if_/https://i.imgflip.com/7a0mf3.jpg)
“Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas”, by Bennozzo Gozzoli, circa 1471. (author photo)
Today I will attempt to explain one of the most knotty and controversial principles in the theology of Thomas Aquinas: the analogy of being between God and creatures, also known by its Latin name,
analogia entis. Much ink has been spilt over this concept, yet the discussion can seem inaccessible to the average lay person. The basic idea is simple enough, but it is linked with complicated aspects of metaphysics and cannot be fully understood without some knowledge of medieval scholastic theology. As a result, most people will never know or care about the analogy of being.
Despite this, you will find some theologians, particularly within the Reformed world, who are firmly opposed to the assertion that an analogy of being exists between God and creatures. Among the most famous critics of this principle in an American Reformed context was Cornelius Van Til. However, were we to consider the issue on a global scale, the most prominent critic of the analogy of being in the 20th century was surely the Swiss Neo-orthodox theologian Karl Barth, who famously debated Erich Przywara on this very subject in the 1930s. It was Barth who left us with perhaps the most headline-grabbing comment about the analogy of being in history. “I regard the
analogia entis as the invention of the antichrist, and I believe that because of it, it is impossible ever to become a Roman Catholic, all other reasons for not doing so being to my mind short-sighted and trivial.”
When one reads a comment like that from such an influential modern theologian, it begs the question, just what is so terrible about the analogy of being that the Protestant Barth, when he had to choose his number one reason for not being a Catholic, did not mention anything about justification, papal authority, the veneration of saints, or the sacraments, but opted instead for this more obscure metaphysical concept? On the other hand, perhaps my readers will be more concerned to know why a number of conservative Reformed scholars consider themselves Thomists in terms of metaphysics if Aquinas was in league with the antichrist or at least veering sharply from the truth of scripture.
My goal in this essay is to determine what Thomas Aquinas taught about the analogy of being. In the future, I hope to give special consideration to how it linked with his notion of divine participation, as that has been a chief source of criticism among Protestants. I also hope to examine the criticisms of Cornelius Van Til and how other Reformed theologians have received this portion of Aquinas’ thought, but life with a new baby makes such things difficult. Come back in ten years, perhaps.
If you are in the mood for some light reading, this is probably not for you, but if you are prepared for a deep dive to learn more about Christian theology, then I welcome you to sit back with your favorite snack or beverage and watch me attempt to engage with one of the most influential theologians of all time. I may succeed or fail spectacularly, and either could be entertaining in its own right.
Initial Considerations
[…]
The Issue of Predication
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Predication between God and Creatures in Scotus’ Writings
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Univocal Predication according to Aquinas
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Aquinas’ Preferred Method of Predication: Analogy
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But What Kind of Analogy?
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The Gulf Between Divine and Creaturely Existence
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Conclusion
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