Question 3

Section 2. How faith relates to religion

The reasoning in the second section is as follows. It seems that faith is no different from religion.

1. For, as Augustine says in the Enchiridion, 18 God is to be worshipped by faith, hope, and love. But the worship of God is an act of religion, as is evident from the definition of Tullius [Cicero], who says 19 that " religion is that by which that higher nature, which is called divine, is worshipped and ritualized." Therefore, faith refers to religion.

2. In addition, Augustine says in his book On True Religion, 20 that the true religion is that " by which we worship the one God and come to know Him with the purest piety." But the knowledge of God belongs to faith. Therefore, faith is encompassed by religion.

3. In addition, offering sacrifices to God is an act of religion. But this is true of faith, since, as Augustine says in the Fifth Book of the City of God, 21"every work that we do out of a desire to be in holy communion with God is a true sacrifice." But man's first connection with God is through faith. Faith, therefore, belongs primarily to religion.

4. Moreover, it is written (Jn 4: 24): God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth; therefore it is more correct to worship God by offering him not the body, but the mind. But in faith, reason is offered to Him, since reason is completely subordinate, agreeing with what It is told. Faith, therefore, belongs primarily to religion.

5. Furthermore, any virtue of which God is the object is a theological virtue. But the object of religion is God: indeed, religion is nothing but what is due

18. Enchir., 3.

19. Rhet., II, 53.

20. De vera relig., 1.

21. De civ. Dei, X, 6.

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worship of God. It is therefore a theological virtue. But it seems to refer more to faith than to any other [theological virtue], since only those who are outside the faith are said to be outside the Christian religion. Therefore, it seems that religion is the same as faith. But against:

1. Tullius [Cicero] says in Book II of the Old Rhetorica, 22 that religion is a part of justice, which is a cardinal virtue. Therefore, since faith is a theological virtue, religion does not coincide with it in kind.

2. In addition, religion also includes actions concerning one's neighbors, as is evident from these words (James 1: 27): Pure and undefiled religion, etc. But the actions of faith apply only to God. Therefore, religion is completely different from faith.

3. In addition," religious " refers, as a rule, to those who are limited by certain specific vows. But they are not the only ones who are called" believers". Therefore, a "believer" and a religious person are not the same thing. Therefore, neither are faith and religion identical.

Answer. It must be said that, as is clear from the tenth book of Augustine's On the City of God, theosebia, i.e., divine worship, religion, piety, and devout service (latreia) They refer to the same thing, namely, the worship of God (ad colendum Deum). But worship, or care (cultus) about anything, there seems to be nothing more than a proper action in relation to it. So, in a different sense, it is said that people care (colere) about the field, parents, fatherland, etc., because different things require different actions. But God is worshipped (colere)not in the sense that He is benefited or helped by any of our actions (as is the case in the case of the above things), but only in the sense that we submit to Him and show this submission. So, therefore, the divine cult (cultus) is called by the name "theosebia"in an unrelated sense. Religion (religio) implies a certain connection (ligatio), according to which a person in some way binds himself to this cult. Therefore, as Augustine says (On True Religion 23), "religion" comes from "binding" (religando) or "new election"

22. Rhet., II, 22.

23. De vera relig., 55.

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(reeligendo) (X book "On the City of God" 24). Indeed, a person binds himself to certain actions based on his own choice; but, as Augustine says in the same place, it is necessary that we choose again what we "lost through neglect." Therefore, those who have devoted their entire lives and themselves to the service of God, having made certain vows, are called "religious" ("monastics").

And piety refers to the worshipper's spirit, which is not driven by hypocrisy or profit seeking. And since it behooves us to treat those who are above us with a kind of divine reverence, even the good deeds that we do to those who are in need are a kind of sacrifice to God, according to these words (Heb 13: 16): Do not forget also charity and sociability, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Accordingly, the names "piety" and" religion " were transferred to acts of charity and, in particular, to benefits that are rendered to parents and the fatherland. As for devotional service, it implies proper worship or worship , in the sense that we must serve the One we worship: not as one person serves another (for this is an accidental duty), but in so far as we owe everything that we are to God as a whole. to our Creator. Therefore, not every service is called devotional, but only that by virtue of which a person submits to God.

So, then, religion consists in the actions by which we worship and obey God. And this action should be appropriate for both the worshipper and the worshipper. But the one who is worshipped is a spirit, and therefore one can only touch him spiritually, but not physically. So, the divine cult consists mainly in the actions of the mind, by which it is directed to God. And these actions are mainly the actions of the theological virtues (as Augustine says that God is worshipped by faith, hope, and love), and to them are added the actions of gifts that direct God (for example, wisdom or fear). But since we, who worship God, are corporeal and receive knowledge from our bodily senses, the above-mentioned cult also requires certain bodily actions: first, because we must serve God with our whole being, and secondly, because we must serve God with our whole being.-

24. De civ. Dei, X, 3.

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Through our bodily actions, we encourage ourselves and others to engage in God-centered mental actions. This is why Augustine says in his book"On the Care due for the Dead "25:" Those who pray strive to ensure that the members of their bodies correspond to the very act of prayer (for example, kneel, stretch out their hands, prostrate themselves, or perform some other visible actions), although their invisible will and thoughts of the heart are revealed to God and He does not need the human spirit to express itself in these signs; rather, by these [actions], man encourages himself to pray and lament for his sins more often and more humbly."

So, therefore, all the actions by which a person submits himself to God (whether they are actions of the mind or body) belong to religion. But since what we do to our neighbor for the sake of God, we do to God Himself, it is clear that all such things belong to that submission in which religious worship consists. And so it will be obvious to anyone who looks at it with due care that all such actions relate to religion. This is why Augustine says that "the true sacrifice is anything that we do out of a desire to be in holy communion with God."26 However, there is a certain order here. First and foremost, the action of the mind directed to God belongs to this cult. Secondly, it includes actions of the body (for example, prostrations, sacrifices, etc.) that express and encourage the actions of the mind. Third, the same cult includes all those actions that are performed in relation to one's neighbor for the sake of God.

And yet, just as generosity is a special virtue, although it uses the actions of all virtues according to the special semantic content of the object (for example, giving greatness to the actions of all virtues), so religion is a special virtue in the actions of all virtues, if we talk about the special semantic content of the object (i.e., due to God).); and in this sense, religion is part of justice. However, religion also includes special actions that are not related to any other virtues, such as prostration and so on, which is in the second place a divine cult. And from this it is clear that the actions of faith

25. De cura pro mort., 5.

26. De civ. Dei, X, 6.

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they relate to religion as materially as the actions of other virtues, and even more so, since the action of faith is the first thing that directs the mind to God. But formally, faith is different from religion, since we are talking about a different semantic content of the object. In addition, faith is combined with religion also because faith is the cause and beginning of religion. Indeed, man chooses to worship God only because he holds by faith that God is the Creator, Ruler, and Rewarder of human deeds. But religion itself is not a theological virtue. For it regards as matter all the actions of faith and other virtues by which God is honored, and God Himself is the goal of religion. Indeed, to worship God is to offer these actions to Him [as a sacrifice] as a matter of course.

And from this, the answers to all objections are obvious.

Translated from Latin and comments by Alexey Appolonov

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