44. Christ's Defects, Knowledge, and Passibility of Soul

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Why Christ Assumed Bodily Defects #

• Satisfaction for sin: Christ takes on punishments due to sin to redeem humanity; he satisfies for our sins by bearing what was owed to us
• Demonstration of true humanity: Without defects, Christ would appear fantastic or imaginative rather than truly human, as the Manicheans claimed
• Example of patience: Defects provide an example of how to endure suffering virtuously

The Question of Fomes Peccati (Fountain of Sin) in Christ #

• The fomes peccati is the inclination of the sensual appetite toward things contrary to reason; it represents the tendency toward illicit pleasure
• Distinguished from actual sin; it is a defect of the lower powers when not subject to reason
• Absent in Christ: Perfect moral virtue makes the lower powers completely subject to reason, excluding any fountain of sin
• Moral virtue’s function: Moral virtue (temperance in the concupiscible appetite, fortitude and meekness in the irascible appetite) habituates the lower powers to obey reason

Knowledge and Ignorance in Christ #

• Fullness of knowledge: Christ possessed complete knowledge as the Word of God united to human nature
• No ignorance: The fullness of knowledge excludes ignorance, just as fullness of grace excludes sin
• Human knowledge development: According to his human nature, Christ had genuine human knowledge that developed in time, but without actual ignorance of essential truths
• Isaiah 8:3 interpretation: “Before the boy knew to call his father and mother” refers to human knowledge developing, not to actual ignorance; Augustine interprets this as referring to before Christ’s power was manifest

The Passibility of Christ’s Soul #

• Two modes of undergoing: (1) Bodily undergoing through wounding of the body; (2) Animal/spiritual undergoing through operations of the soul
• Principle: Nothing undergoes except from something stronger than it; the agent is more outstanding than the patient (Augustine, Aristotle)
• Soul’s capacity to suffer: Because Christ’s body could suffer and was mortal, his soul necessarily suffered in some way through its union with the body

The Distinction of “Passion” (Pathos/Passio) #

• Originally means suffering or undergoing something harmful and destructive
• Extended to sensing: receiving sensory data (not inherently harmful)
• Extended further to understanding: receiving intelligible forms (the word “understand” contains “under,” but is not harmful)
• In English, “undergoing” best captures the original sense while allowing extension
• Emotions (affections of the sensitive appetite) are a form of undergoing distinct from intellectual operations

Key Arguments #

For the Suitability of Christ Assuming Defects #

• Satisfaction requires taking on the punishments of sin (death, hunger, thirst, fatigue)
• Without defects, Christ would not appear truly human, undermining the reality of the Incarnation
• Defects provide an example of patience and virtue in enduring suffering

Against Having the Fomes Peccati #

• Objection: If flesh naturally desires pleasant things, shouldn’t Christ have this desire?
  • Response: Flesh desires according to right reason in Christ, not against it; desire for food after 40 days is reasonable and not part of the fomes
• Objection: Shouldn’t Christ have internal struggle to show greater virtue?
  • Response: Greater strength of spirit is shown in having no disordered desire than in resisting it; Christ had external temptations (world, devil) rather than internal ones

Important Definitions #

Fomes Peccati #

The “fountain” or “kindling” of sin (from Latin fomes, tender or kindling for fire); the inclination of the sensual appetite toward things contrary to reason. Distinguished from actual sin—it represents the disordered tendency itself, not the act. Absent in Christ due to perfect moral virtue.

Passio/Pathos #

Originally means suffering or undergoing something harmful. Extended by Aristotle to sensing (receiving sensory impressions) and to understanding (receiving intelligible forms). In the context of emotions, refers to affections of the sensitive appetite that arise in response to perceived goods or evils.

Moral Virtue #

Habituation of the lower powers (concupiscible and irascible appetites) to obey reason. Temperance moderates the concupiscible appetite (desire for pleasure); fortitude and meekness moderate the irascible appetite (anger, fear, boldness). Makes the sensitive appetites subject to reason through repeated acts.

Examples & Illustrations #

Music and the Habituation of Emotions #

• 18th-century music (Bach, Mozart, Handel) moves emotions in accordance with reason, disposing one toward virtue
• Modern music often moves emotions irrationally, disposing one toward vice
• This illustrates that emotions must be trained through habituation to follow reason
• Aristotle emphasizes the importance of observing good paintings and especially good music because it affects emotions more powerfully

Plato’s Comparison of Reason to Emotion #

• Reason to emotion is like a man to his horse
• Initially the horse resists, but through persistent mounting, the man can eventually tame the horse
• Washington Irving’s Tour on the Prairies provides a concrete example of taming wild horses—initially very wild, but quickly brought into subjection

Aristotle’s Question on Rule #

• Should reason rule emotions like a master rules a slave (for the master’s benefit, with the slave having no say)?
• Or like a father rules a son (for the son’s benefit, with the son having some say)?
• Aristotle argues for the paternal model; Thomas applies this to Christ

The Temptations of Christ #

• After 40 days, Christ was hungry; hunger is not a sin but a natural result of fasting
• The devil’s temptation was twofold: to satisfy hunger by turning stones to bread, and to do so as proof of being the Son of God
• This shows Christ could be tempted by hunger but not by gluttony (the vice)
• The three temptations correspond to the three sources of sin (1 John 2:16): lust of the flesh (hunger), lust of the eyes (throwing self from pinnacle), pride of life (kingdoms of the world)

Personal Examples from Berquist #

• A friend’s brother’s changed relationship after seeing Shakespeare’s As You Like It (depicting reconciliation between brothers)
• Father’s business friend who wanted his son to attend prestigious college but the son failed; later the father learned the son’s true talent was managing a gas station
• The importance of parents ruling children for the children’s benefit, not forcing them into the parents’ unfulfilled dreams

Notable Quotes #

“For this the Son of God took on human flesh and came into the world, that he might satisfy for the sin of the human race. Now, one person satisfies the sin of another, and he takes on the punishment due to sin in himself.” — St. Thomas Aquinas, on the rationale for Christ assuming bodily defects

“Without these defects, the Son of God took on human nature, he would seem to not have been a true man, nor to have had true flesh, but a fantastic or imaginative one, as the Manicheans say.” — St. Thomas Aquinas, on the necessity of defects for demonstrating true humanity

“The strength of the spirit is shown from this that it resists the desires of the flesh contrary to it… But even greater strength of the spirit is shown if through this power it is wholly compressed, so that it is not able to desire or want against the spirit.” — St. Thomas Aquinas, on Christ’s perfect virtue

“Full of grace and truth.” — John 1:14, applied by Thomas to show fullness of grace excludes sin and fullness of truth excludes ignorance

“For a theologian, to not be in touch with the beautiful is a very dangerous thing.” — Cardinal Ratzinger, cited by Berquist on the importance of beauty for theology

Questions Addressed #

Did Christ Have the Fomes Peccati? #

• Resolution: No. Perfect moral virtue completely subjects the lower powers to reason, excluding any inclination of the sensual appetite against reason. While Christ’s body naturally desired food, drink, and sleep according to right reason, he had no disordered inclination toward illicit pleasures.

How Can We Say Christ Took On an “Ignorant and Servile Nature” Without Actually Being Ignorant? #

• Resolution: Human nature considered abstractly (by its specific kind) is naturally ignorant and slavishly subject to God. But human nature in Christ, considered as united to the divine person, has the fullness of knowledge and grace from that union. John 1:14 captures this: “full of grace and truth” because he is the only-begotten from the Father.

What Does It Mean That Christ “Did Not Know Sin”? #

• Resolution: Christ did not know sin by experience (experiential knowledge), but knew it by simple knowledge (conceptual understanding). Just as one can know what it is to be in battle without experiencing battle, Christ knew sin without experiencing it.

How Can Christ’s Soul Undergo Passion Without Being Imperfect? #

• Resolution: The soul undergoes passion in two ways: (1) bodily undergoing through wounding of the body—because the soul is the form of the body and shares its being, bodily injury necessarily affects the soul; (2) animal/spiritual undergoing through operations of the soul (sensing, understanding, emotions). Christ’s soul underwent both without this implying disorder or imperfection.