Reformanda Initiative Podcast #67: Engaging with Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Approach

Welcome to this new installment of our Reformanda Initiative podcast series! I’m excited to present the ministry of Dr. Leonardo De Chirico and his associates at Reformanda Initiative as they examine Roman Catholic theology in order to inform and equip evangelicals.

Episode #67: Engaging with Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Approach

Show Notes

In this episode we speak with Leonardo De Chirico, the Director of the Reformanda Initiative, about his new book Engaging with Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Approach, which will be available on May 16th (the Amazon U.S. release date is June 18th – Tom).

My Comments

The Roman Catholic church regards Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) as its greatest theologian. It was Aquinas who defended and further defined the RCC’s sacramental system and syncretized Roman (c)hristianity with the medieval re-interest in pagan Aristotelianism. Thomism has nothing to do with Biblical Christianity, yet some evangelical scholars have embraced Aquinas with great enthusiasm to the point of identifying themselves as “Thomists” (e.g., John Gerstner, R.C. Sproul, Norman Geisler, Win Corduan). Some young evangelical scholars are taking up the mantle and studying Aquinas with a passion. There’s little doubt that some of the motivation is intellectual snobbishness.

In this podcast, Dr. Leonardo De Chirico encourages evangelicals scholars to read Aquinas eclectically (open to whatever the reader thinks is good and discarding the bad), and also elenctically (refutatively). Given the eagerness of some credulous, Rome-friendly evangelical scholars to start down the road of “Thomism,” that is good advice, and yet I would be even more cautious. As I’ve noted several times in the past, evangelical scholars are often deferential to a fault. In this podcast, there are far too many superlatives (just one would have been one too many) being thrown around in connection to Aquinas. Evangelical scholars generally don’t encourage Christians to eclectically plumb the writings of Joseph Smith Jr., Mary Baker Eddy, or Charles Taze Russell for spiritual insights and inspiration. The reason is obvious. Why then encourage Christians to study the writings of an unsaved Roman Catholic priest, theologian, and philosopher who was one of the main architects/definers/refiners of the RCC’s false gospel of salvation by sacramentalsim and merit?

I get it. Dr. De Chirico is at least encouraging caution and discernment when it comes to studying Aquinas, unlike Gerstner, Sproul, Geisler, Corduan and today’s evangelical Aquinas fan boys.* And I concede evangelical scholars should be “somewhat” conversant regarding RC-ism’s “greatest theologian.” But it’s a slippery slope from being semi-conversant to Thomist fan boy, like the late R.C. Sproul, who bizarrely revered Aquinas as one of his seven “Heroes of the Christian Faith” (see here). I realize it’s Dr. De Chirico’s intention with this podcast and upcoming book to add some discernment traction to the increasingly popular slippery slope.

*The young pastor of the small Southern Baptist Church we attended from 2014 to 2015, Drew B****, confided to me that his “favorite theologian” was Thomas Aquinas. I voiced my objections to no effect. For that reason and many others, we left the church in June 2015.

Episode #67: Engaging with Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Approach
Featuring Leonardo De Chirico, Reid Karr, and Clay Kannard
May 13, 2024 – 46 minutes
https://reformandainitiative.buzzsprout.com/663850/15057970-67-engaging-with-thomas-aquinas-an-evangelical-approach

There is no YouTube video version of this podcast. The RI guys discontinued posting episodes on YouTube following Episode #38.

For my index to episodes 1-67 of the Reformanda Initiative podcast, see here.