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I've been raised Protestant. But, like many Protestants, I have a catholic heart. For the Protestants on this forum, here is a link to a thought-provoking piece, a short discussion of books on Aquinas, supposed to be eye-openers for Protestants. Only the first few paragraphs are given as a hos-d'oeuvre

Second Chance for Thomas

by Timothy M. Renick
Book Review:

The Theology of Thomas Aquinas. Edited by Rik Van Nieuwenhove and Joseph Wawrykow. University of Notre Dame Press, 472 pp. $37.50.

Holy Teaching: Introducing the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas. By Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt. Brazos, 352 pp., $27.99 paperbavk.

One of the fascinating aspects of the events surrounding the passing of Pope John Paul II was the almost universal outpouring of grief. The "peoples pope" was also claimed by millions of Protestants, many of whom stayed up through the night to watch his funeral and took his loss as that of one of their own.

From a historical perspective, this phenomenon was at once heartwarming and curious. After all, the pope has not been revered in official Protestant doctrine. He has been tolerated, at best, and more often than not he has been vilified. Protestants have been taught to reject the teachings of the Catholic Church, from its doctrine of grace to its conception of the priesthood and the sacraments, almost as fervently as they have been taught to reject non-Christian religions. Has something changed? Have Protestants discovered new connections with Catholicism, or come to appreciate the existing commonalities more deeply?

Two new books give readers the opportunity to explore these questions in unexpected ways by revisiting the thought and doctrine of that most Catholic of thinkers, Thomas Aquinas The Theology of Thomas Aquinas is an anthology of 18 essays by a distinguished group of contemporary scholars. Holy Teaching is an in-depth commentary on selective portions of Aquinass greatest work.

Aquinas has always been held at arms length by Protestants. While Augustine -- with his past of sexual excess and his conversion in the garden -- has been adopted warmly, if somewhat uncritically, by evangelicals, Aquinas has remained quintessentially Catholic.


www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3266