Philosophy the Handmaid of Theology · §41

Whether the object of faith can be false

Article XIV. Whether the object of faith can be false.

1. Some say faith's object can be false — if God (which is impossible) revealed a falsehoodhoodhood, or if someone believes what is in fact false, taking it as revealed.

2. Formally, divine faith's object cannot be false. It rests on God's testimony; he is truth itself and can neither deceive nor be deceived. Believing a falsehood is error or fallacious human faith, not divine faith.

3. Faith about conditionals or future contingents does not make the object false: God reveals what is true, even about contingents, according to his decree.

Latin

ART. XIV. An objectum fidei possit esse falsum. 1. Non desunt qui asserant objectum fidei posse esse falsum — si DEUS (per impossibile) falsum revelaret, vel si aliquis credat id quod de facto falsum est, putans a DEO revelatum. 2. Respondemus: Objectum fidei divinae, formaliter spectatum, non potest esse falsum; quia fides divina nititur DEI testimonio, qui est ipsa veritas & nec fallere nec falli potest. Si quid falsum creditur, non est fides divina, sed error vel fides humana fallax. 3. Quod aliqui dicunt de fide quae versatur circa propositiones conditionales vel de futuris contingentibus, non facit objectum fidei esse falsum: DEUS enim vera revelat, etiam de contingentibus, secundum decretum suum.

About this text

Robert Baron, Philosophia Theologiae Ancillans (Philosophy in Service to Theology): the first exercise, on being and essence, and the second, on the origin of the soul and the spread of sin — newly rendered from Latin. Later exercises are not in this volume.

English follows locked 1658 Oxford Latin. Prima Art. I-XII from IA PDF leaves ~15-53. Secunda Art. I-XV from PDF leaves 56-107 / printed pp.54-105 (tess+pdftotext+DjVu). No modern English copied. Exercitatio Tertia+ remain.

Catalogue & scope

Wing B887. IA bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_philosophia-theologi-an_baron-robert_1658. Exercitatio Prima Art. I-XII; Exercitatio Secunda Art. I-XV (De origine animae & propagatione peccati). Not whole Philosophia (213 pp). Exercitatio Tertia+ remain.

Witnesses

This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.