Philosophy as the handmaid of theology can be easily understood in laymans terms as

philosophy is the foundation of theology. This statement is quite analogous to a creamer, which

always needs a substance for it to be used or consumed such as coffee, chocolate, and the like.

Philosophy can also be a foundation, not just with theology, but with other different fields of

studies or disciplines. It became the foundation of math in relation to Pythagoras in his

Pythagorean Theorem; of science, in relation to Democritus and Leucippuss concept of atom,

psychology, and the like.

But what makes theology peculiar with philosophy? Why does theology need philosophy? Let

us first distinguish the idea of the two. A beginners impression in the discipline of philosophy

and theology might be that there is no difference between them except of preference. For a

beginner, both fields of study occupy different department universities, but both deal with the

same question. The only difference from his perspective would be that theologians would see

only God, and religion, and philosophers would see these things but in line with reason such as

logic and causality. In other words, philosophy speaks of truth through reason and theology talks

about revelation of truth through the Divine Being we call God together with His creatures, more

particularly with human beings.

But what can be their connection? What makes philosophy the handmaid of theology? Before

theology was brought into existence, philosophy became the field of study by man. It was the

Greeks who influenced the Western world with their philosophy. Clement of Alexandria would

explain that philosophy was necessary for the Greeks for righteousness. 1 It became the wisdom

1 Clement of Alexandria, (Stromata,) p.

of the Greeks at that time and not just wisdom, but source of truth. For Clement of Alexandria,

wisdom is therefore queen of philosophy as philosophy is of preparatory culture. 2 For the

Church Father, philosophy is the preparation of a person to understand theology. Philosophy

comes from the root words Philein and Sophia, which means love of wisdom. With this kind of

idea, philosophy encompasses wisdom. To understand the nature of the divine, one must possess

wisdom by studying it with the help of philosophy in order for us to understand the causes and

truths of it. In other words, for the Church Father to understand the divine, we must know the

process of his manifestation with the help of causes and effects in line with wisdom through

philosophy.

Thomas Aquinas would also argue that philosophy is the handmaid of theology. For him,

philosophy does not destroy theology, instead it perfects it.3 Both disciplines deal with the truth,

the former deals with natural knowledge, and the latter deals with faith. In order for us to

understand these revealed truths by faith, a preparatory stage is necessary, or there is a certain

prerequisite, which is philosophy.

We can see this in this text, Nevertheless they incorporate some similitudes of these higher

truths and some things that are preparatory for them, just as nature is preamble to grace. 4 These

texts state that the term nature is prerequisite with the term grace. But is it possible to obtain

errors when these two disciplines merge? Aquinas would say that it is not possible. Error only

2 Ibid, p.

3 Thomas Aquinas, (Boethius on the trinity). p.

4 Ibid, p.
exists if reason is insufficient which is due to the abuse of philosophy.5 Theodicy is one of the

best examples of merging two fields of study. Aquinass quid qui viae or the five ways of the

existence of God is a combination of philosophical and theological thought. He writes:

First, to demonstrate those truths that are preambles of faith and that have a
necessary place in the science of faith. Such are the truths about God that can be
proved by natural reason that God exists, that God is one; such truths about
God or about His creatures, subject to philosophical proof, faith presupposes. 6

To sum it up, philosophy is the handmaid of theology, because Philosophy can stand on its own

based on natural reasons and causes while theology would revolve in Gods revelation. But in

order for us to understand how God manifests the truth in little ways, philosophy is necessary in

order for man to understand God with the help of his function or nature, which is His rationality.

5 Ibid, p.

6 Ibid, p.