It was not “my” claim-—it is G. K. Chesterton’s claim—and he is known for the man with the most “Common Sense” in the 20th Century-—noted by C.S. Lewis-—and other geniuses.
go to 5:20 Everyone should know about GK Chesterton and I know people who have never heard of him-—they are ignorant....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGCLcK_umJk
I agree-—I read his book on St. Thomas Åquinas and Chesterton claims the the Summa is the most Reasoned document ever written. You have to understand that EVERYONE uses “Faith”=—Everyone-—but Catholic Theology admits when they use “faith” and it is reasoned as far as reason can go.
The Summa is written in former logic-—in syllogism-—where later philosophy and theology threw out “reason” and logic (Ayn Rand on Marx, Hegel, etc.) with the “skeptics” (Kant, Descartes) (modernists) who couldn’t even state for sure, if they existed.
St. Thomas argued that (as GKC stated: “an egg is an egg-—and Hegel would state an “egg is a hen that is becoming” or some irrational statement-—which is the irrational element which pinnacled with Marx who states there is no God—with no scientific proof and TONS of faith in a utopianism—totally irrational.
St. Thomas would say-—if you can’t state that an “egg is an egg”—then you can’t Reason on anything.
Now-—I agree that the Catholic Church is in heresy in many parts of the USA...and other European countries...I am talking about Thomism—and Vatican II threw out that which made the Catholic Church “perfect” as anything could be on earth.
Faith is needed for every person. But St. Thomas reasoned “faith” to the extreme which has never been done before or after-—according to Chesterton.
It will never cease to amaze me how much Catholics and others put so much of their faith in other mortals and avoid the book and the person that tells us all we really need to know...the Bible and Jesus. Catholics in particular seem to respond to Biblical points with rebuttals from writings from “church fathers” (who lived hundreds of years after Christ and the New Testament was written) instead of using the Bible itself.
C.S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, Billy Graham, John Calvin, Martin Luther, any of the Popes, etc. all are or were smart and great men, but they weren’t Jesus and they weren’t perfect. It was instructed to the first Christians to study Scriptures and test every doctrine against Scripture and we should still do the same. It is lazy and dangerous to just blindly accept what some “great man” said, without checking the Bible. (1 John 4:1-6, 2 Timothy 2:15)
Besides, your response doesn’t negate the simple lack of logic in this current discussion of what the Catholic doctrine calls “necessary.” Again, if a person doesn’t need to the Catholic Church for salvation or taking the Eucharist for salvation then it wouldn’t be necessary. HOWEVER, the Catholic writings and Catholics themselves want to have it both ways. It doesn’t take a genius to see that doesn’t make sense.