Through the Church Fathers

Today’s readings move from false systems to memory and wise counsel. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by pressing the absurdity of Marcion’s divided theology: if Marcion gives his higher god a separate world, space, matter, and Christ, then his supposed two-god system begins multiplying gods without realizing it; and if he claims only the invisible things for his god, Tertullian answers that the visible and invisible belong together under the one Creator. Augustine then reflects on memory’s power to remember not only truths and falsehoods, but even the act of remembering itself. Aquinas closes by showing that prudence requires counsel, judgment, and command, and that the gift of counsel makes the soul teachable under the guidance of the Holy Spirit when human judgment is limited or uncertain. Together, these readings remind us that bad theology eventually collapses under its own contradictions, the human mind is wonderfully complex, and wise action requires both careful reasoning and dependence on God.
Today’s Readings:
Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 15–17
Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 13 (Section 20)
Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 51–52 (Counsel, Judgment, Command, and the Gift of Counsel Combined)
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Today’s readings move from creation’s witness to the mind’s grasp of truth and the virtue needed for wise action. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by defending creation as a worthy testimony to the Creator, arguing that even the smallest creatures and ordinary elements of the world expose the inconsistency of those who despise creation while still depending on it. Augustine then reflects on mathematical truths, showing that numbers and dimensions are not received through bodily senses like colors, sounds, or smells, but are perceived inwardly by the mind itself. Aquinas closes by treating prudence as right reason applied to action, the virtue that guides courage, mercy, correction, generosity, and every moral act toward the right end, in the right way, and at the right time. Together, these readings remind us that creation bears witness to God, the mind reaches truths beyond the senses, and the Christian life requires not only good desires, but wise judgment.
Today’s Readings:
Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 13–14
Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 12 (Section 19)
Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 47–48 (Prudence and Its Parts Combined)
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Today’s readings move from the certainty of God to the hidden depths of the mind and the spiritual taste of wisdom. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by challenging the idea of a newly revealed and formerly unknown god, arguing that the true God could not have remained unknown, because the Creator has always borne witness to Himself through creation, conscience, and the soul’s natural knowledge of God. Augustine then reflects on truths that do not enter memory through the bodily senses, asking how realities like existence, definition, and quality are recognized by the mind as true when they seem to arise from deeper places within. Aquinas closes by joining wisdom and folly together: wisdom is the Spirit-given taste for divine things that flows from charity, while folly is the dullness that comes when the soul becomes too attached to earthly things. Together, these readings remind us that God is not a late discovery, truth is not merely sensory information, and the soul must be trained to taste what is divine rather than grow dull toward it.
Today’s Readings:
Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 9–10
Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 10 (Section 17)
Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 45–46 (Wisdom and Folly Combined)
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Today’s readings press us toward evidence, attention, and wise action. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by arguing that a god with nothing to show for himself is no god at all; the Creator is known through His works, while Marcion’s supposed higher god has no creation, no witness, and no worthy ground for faith. Augustine then reflects on learning as a gathering of the mind, showing that thought is not merely receiving images through the senses, but collecting, ordering, and bringing forward truths already held within the memory. Aquinas closes by beginning the section on prudence, teaching that virtue needs more than good desire: it needs right reason applied to action, so that courage, mercy, correction, and generosity are carried out in the right way, at the right time, and for the right end. Together, these readings remind us that the true God is not without witness, the mind must be trained to gather truth carefully, and the good life requires wisdom in action.
Today’s Readings:
Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 11–12
Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 11 (Section 18)
Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 47–48 (Prudence and Its Parts Combined)
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Today’s readings expose false gods, examine memory, and warn against careless harm to the soul of another. Tertullian continues Against Marcion by arguing that Marcion cannot make his two gods either equal or unequal, because true deity admits no rival, no diminishment, and no novelty; a “new god” is, for Tertullian, already exposed as a false one. Augustine then distinguishes memory of sensible images from the deeper knowledge retained in the mind, showing that learning, reasoning, and the liberal sciences are held not merely as pictures, but as things understood. Aquinas closes by treating scandal as a sin against charity, since love does not place needless stumbling blocks before the spiritually weak, even while truth must never be abandoned merely because the proud take offense. Together, these readings call us to confess the one eternal God, marvel at the hidden powers of the soul, and guard our neighbor’s path with truth and charity.
Today’s Readings:
Tertullian — Against Marcion, Book 1, Chapters 6–8
Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 9 (Section 16)
Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 43 (Articles 1–8 Combined)
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