Thomas Aquinas and Evelyn Waugh on Faith and Science

The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.

– Saint Thomas Aquinas

This reminds me of that hilarious account in Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited about Rex Mottram who wishes to receive instructions from a Catholic priest for the sole purpose of marrying a Catholic.

When the priest tries to trick him and asks what would happen if the Pope predicted that it would rain and then subsequently it never did actually rain, Rex eagerly responded: “I suppose it would be sort of raining spiritually, only we were too sinful to see it.”

The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.

– Saint Thomas Aquinas

This reminds me of that hilarious account in Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited about Rex Mottram who wishes to receive instructions from a Catholic priest for the sole purpose of marrying a Catholic.

When the priest tries to trick him and asks what would happen if the Pope predicted that it would rain and then subsequently it never did actually rain, Rex eagerly responded: “I suppose it would be sort of raining spiritually, only we were too sinful to see it.”