The Queen and Her Handmaiden

In the Middle Ages, theology was called “the queen of the sciences” and philosophy “her handmaiden.” – R.C. Sproul¹

What does it mean that philosophy is the handmaiden of theology? How does philosophical reasoning serve our study of God? We previously explored why it is permissible to use philosophy in matters of theology. From the writings of Thomas Aquinas, we gleaned four theses on faith and reason. 

1. Faith is not contrary to reason. Rather, faith perfects reason.
2. Reason can demonstrate certain presuppositions of the Christian faith. 
3. Reason can refute philosophical claims that contradict the faith.
4. Reason is secondary to faith in Scripture and in Christ. 

Today I will go a step further, contending that philosophy is an unavoidable element of theology. Not only that, but a good understanding of philosophy benefits our understanding of God and his Word.

The study of God does not simply involve repeating Scripture. It involves us making inferences from Scripture. It involves us synthesizing Scripture, seeking to understand how it fits as a cohesive whole, and what the entirety of Scripture teaches about specific topics. According to Herman Bavinck, “God has not called us to literally repeat but to reflect on what he has antecedently thought and laid out in revelation.”² We are called to reflect on what God has said, not merely repeat it verbatim, which means we are called to use of faculties of reasoning. 

The Westminster Confession of Faith states that “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture…there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.”³ When we do theology, we don’t just repeat what is expressly said in Scripture. We make deductions, we examine the natural world, and we use Christian wisdom, provided that wisdom is consistent with the general principles of Scripture. Thus, theology requires reasoning at some level. 

Not only do we reflect on God’s revelation, we also seek clear ways to express those reflections. Philosophy provides precise language and categories that enable us to articulate theology more clearly. For instance, the Nicene Creed says the Son is “consubstantial with the Father.” The word consubstantial is a technical term from Greek philosophy, and the creed used it to convey that Father and Son are each fully God; they equally share in the one divine nature. The phrase rebuffed the false teaching that the Father and Son were only of like substance: extremely similar but not equal in their divine nature, and hence not both fully God. In this example, we have the testimony of Scripture that both the Father and Son are God. Christians reflected on this biblical truth using their faculties of reasoning, using philosophical concepts to clarify the truth as well as refute error. 

Wait…can’t we just correct faulty interpretations of Scripture with right interpretations? Why should we use philosophy? Well, remember that theology requires us to use our faculties of reasoning. And when we use our faculties of reasoning, we are using things outside the text to help us interpret it. We use logic. We make inferences. We appeal to historical context. We also inevitably bring outside philosophical ideas to help interpret the text, whether we know it or not. 

To see what I mean, consider a fairly basic theological question. Does God have a body? If you answer “no,” you are right. But how do we know God does not have a physical body? How do we know he is a spiritual being? 

Scripture clearly says God is spirit, right? “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) The problem is that numerous verses describe God as having a body. God has an arm (Isaiah 59:1), a hand (Psalm 63:8), an ear (Psalm 116:2), and eyes (2 Chronicles 16:9). If I were to show you all the Scriptures that describe God as having a body, this article would be quite lengthy. If we tallied them all up, probably more verses speak of God having a body than of God being a spiritual being. How do we resolve this? 

One might answer that all these verses are metaphors. As I suggest in this video, God often describes himself using anthropomorphisms. But nothing in the text explicitly says it is speaking metaphorically. I am reading my prior assumption (that God has no body) into the text to conclude that God’s arms, hands, ears, and eyes are not literal. And where do I get that assumption? From one solitary verse that says God is spirit? 

Alternatively, we can bring our observations about the natural world, as well as philosophical reasoning. This is not elevating philosophy to a higher authority than Scripture. It is merely acknowledging that God has revealed himself through multiple avenues. God’s invisible attributes are evident in the created world, namely his eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20). My contention is that the natural world gives us ample reasons to infer that God is spirit, along with many other attributes that are inherent to the very meaning of God (his divine nature).  In the words of Thomas Aquinas, philosophy can demonstrate that “God exists, that He is One, and other truths of this sort about God or creatures proved in philosophy and presupposed by faith.”⁴ Again, the Christian faith presupposes certain truths about God’s nature. God has revealed himself through creation enough to leave sinners without excuse for rejecting Him. 

Theology does not merely hang on a battle of proof texts. It takes into account all that God has revealed in nature and in Scripture, with Scripture as the highest but not the exclusive authority. If philosophy demonstrates that God does not have a body, that does influence how we interpret texts that speak of God’s arm, hand, ear, and eyes. My faith can withstand simple objections like, “you have one verse saying God is Spirit, I have dozens saying God has a physical body!” Or “you have a couple of verses saying God does not change, I have many more saying that he does change!” Through philosophy, I can reach conclusions based on what the natural world reveals about God. I can know God as he intended to reveal himself: through both creation and Scripture. In this way philosophy serves theology, not as an ultimate authority, but as an important and beneficial aid. 

In fact, you may be surprised at how much we can learn about God through philosophy and the natural world. Next week, we will explore specific divine attributes that we can learn through natural reasoning. The Christian faith does presuppose certain truths about God. It behooves us to learn the reasoning behind these truths in order to guard against false views of God and to understand the manifold ways He has revealed himself.

1. R.C. Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology ↩︎
2. Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 1:618. ↩︎
3. Westminster Confession of Faith, 1.6 ↩︎
4. Thomas Aquinas Faith, Reason and Theology, Question Two, Article Three ↩︎