Page 63 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 2

Christian Psychology

My master, a Polish professor of philosophy M. Gogacz, „Summa Theologica“ of St.. Thomas Aquinas, we find the
pointed to the personal relationship of faith, which is a re- article in which he wonders what is more important on
action of our interior to the manifestation of the existence the road to the truth - reason or will. And despite his
( act of being) of the other person in the form of truth. intellectualism he states that more important is the will,
Every real being is above all existence, and it manifests because you have to want to know the truth, to seek it. In
itself by six transcendentale, including one that is truth. practical terms, this free will decides whether we meet
The truth of being is its knowability, intelligibility; but in the truth.
the case of persons it means that you can trust them, give
someone faith. The second difference involves, I believe, the denomi-
nation to which I belong. In the Roman Catholic Chur-
Therefore, faith is much more than knowledge. In some ch the source of truth is the community recognized as
sense, it is an affront to the person, when you reduce him the mystical body of Christ, even about matters that are
or her to knowledge. Likewise, in the case of the relati- absent in the Scriptures. I must admit that I experience
onship with God, it is something different to recognize this alleged relationship as something uplifting and li-
the strength of a cosmic deity, and to trust a Holy Person. berating. My church recognizes two sources of Revelati-
So here we agree with Agnes May, and it is an old Christi- on: Tradition and Scripture. Maybe this is some kind of
an intuition which lies at the foundation of the European scandal to our contemporaries (dogmat!), but the truth
culture. With what I do not agree? I find two of these th- is rooted in the community. It is important in my perso-
reads. nal experience. This is also confirmation of the personal
character of truth, celebrated in the community.
One thread relates to a method of building knowledge.
Knowledge is a human construct, as Kant recognized. And finally, a special accent. The author of the artic-
But its source is not our product. That source on being le bears the name Agnes. It is the former Roman Saint,
encountered is independent of our influential response considered by many churches, including the Orthodox.
of the intellect (intellectus passivus), which in medieval She was a martyr for the faith at the time of Emperor
times was known as preconscious knowledge (verbum Diocletian. I remember the shock I experienced looking
cordis, conceptus mentis). The initial response of the in- at the relic of Her in the Roman church of Santa Agnese
tellect on being met by objective preconscious knowledge in Agone in Piazza Navona and reflections that swept
always expresses the truth of the being who encounters over me as I passed through the catacombs of St. Agnes
it. But it is only the beginning, and still preconscious. At under the basilica of Santa Agnese fuori le Mura. The
this level there are fundamental assumptions of thinking. well preserved skull of the sacred is very small, because
This is the level at which starts the first principles of ef- at the time of her martyrdom she was a child! She was
ficiency of thinking. If we had an easy and direct access only 12 years old... The mighty empire tormented a child
to the intellect on this layer, there would be no disputes who believed the truth and was ready to die for it (for
and differences. But we do not have. To realize the results Him!). That is why at time of the feast of Saint Agnese
obtained, we need to hold that nucleus in an inner and two young lambs are given, and from their wool is ma-
outer conversation, depending on the culture. And that nufactured wool pallium, worn by archbishops as a sign
is where there are errors, interpretations, and distortions, of religious faith. Today, we need more witnesses like St.
especially when we start to think, create knowledge, and Agnes than Sophists. It was nice when I realized that the
draw conclusions. Why do I think this is important? Be- text of Agnes May is a kind of confession of faith, in ag-
cause it is in a condition of discourse, that we find the reement with so famous Saint Agnese tradition. I share
only opportunity to meet in the truth received by many this belief of sister Agnes May, perhaps adding a pinch of
people. It is hard work, in the sweat of his brow, that this Thomistic rationalism.
is the condition of general human culture. My passion for
teaching, knowledge creation is based on trust in the rea-
sonableness of this process. Finally, you can always come
back to reality, check, correct, compare. This ability gives
dignity to the human intellect in doubt. „Intellect is the
greatest work of the Creator!“ It also allows for an open
discussion with those who do not believe, for they can be
open to the arguments based on the common experience
of reality. I like to „read reality“, because it seems to me
that I am a metaphysician. It “seems to me”, because it‘s Krzysztof Wojcieszek,
quite high dignity – to be metaphysician. So finally Kant Poland, MA, molecu-
was wrong, because his individualistic view of intellect lar biology, ethics, MA,
led to Idealism, although he was a great philosopher re- Doctor of Humanities
ally. - Philosophy, author
of many programs and
The article points to obedience, subordination, as a con- projects of prevention
dition of acceptance of Revelation. Yes, in the text of the used in Poland.

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