Episode notes
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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