Aquinas and the New Evangelization: 4 Thomistic Lessons We’re Missing Today

So, about seven weeks ago, I got one of the most exciting e-mails I’ve ever received:

It’s an invitation to speak here, at the Pints With Aquinas Virtual Catholic Apologetics Conference this October 23-25^th, with an estimated audience of 40,000 – 70,000 attendees:

My talk is called “Aquinas and the New Evangelization: 4 Thomistic Lessons We’re Missing Today”:

As a preview, here are the four major points I’m making:

1. Stop Contending Against Flesh and Blood: St. Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” In his commentary on Ephesians, Aquinas quotes St. Peter Lombard, who says, “Evil men are horses, and the demons the riders; hence, if we kill the riders, the horses will be ours.” What does that mean, and why does it matter for us today?
2. “Steel Man” The Other Side’s Argument: If you’re familiar with a “straw man” argument, this is the opposite of that. Peter Kreeft paraphrases Bertrand Russell as saying of St. Thomas Aquinas, “I found that my own objections to his philosophy were not as good as his own objections to his philosophy.”
3. Recognize the Need to Want to Believe: Aquinas is sometimes parodied as if he thinks that faith is just a matter of accepting certain syllogisms. But in fact, he says the opposite: that “to believe is an act of the intellect inasmuch as the will moves it to assent” and that “this act proceeds from the will and the intellect.”
4. Take the Daughters of Lust Seriously: Aquinas (following Pope St. Gregory the Great) lists 8 “daughters of lust,” the spiritual consequences that follow upon us giving in to lust. Here’s why we may not be taking that seriously enough in evangelization.

If that sounds interesting, I hope you’ll plan to attend! If I understand everything correctly, it’s free to attend, but it costs money to get the recordings afterwards. If you sign up for the conference through this link, and then buy anything, I’ll get a portion of the profits, if that’s something that interests you (it interests me).

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I’ve also set this up to be a sort of “landing pad” for anyone who discovers Shameless Popery via the Conference. So if you’re new here, and want to hear more of what I have to offer, here’s what I’ve got:

• Blog: Shameless Popery. You’re already here.
• Podcast: The Catholic Podcast.
• Live (and Live-ish) Speaking Events: School of Faith
• My Books:
  • Pope Peter: Defending the Church’s Most Distinctive Doctrine in a Time of Crisis
  • Who Am I, Lord?: Finding Your Identity in Christ
• Other Writing: I do a fair amount of stuff over at Catholic Answers, too!
• Contact me: [email protected]. Warning: I’m often really bad about getting halfway through the response to an e-mail and then never sending it. It’s not you, it’s me.