Consider the following proposition as a key to understanding the Catholic-Christian approach to theology:

The proper Catholic-Christian answer to any theological question is always
"both/and," rather than "either/or."

At first glance, this might seem ridiculous or contradictory. Isn't God absolute? Isn't there just one truth, as opposed to error?  Indeed, this proposal does not imply that a statement and its direct negation are both true ("A is B" and "A is not B").  It would obviously be false to claim, for example, that "God is Love" and "God is not Love," or "Jesus is divine" and "Jesus is not divine."

However, just as every coin has both a "heads" and a "tails" side, just as every battery has both a "positive" and a "negative" terminal, and just as the earth has both a North Pole and a South Pole, so also there are always (at least) two "sides" or "poles" to the Catholic-Christian answer to any theological question. These opposite poles often seem far apart and difficult to hold together. It is rarely easy to understand and balance both sides of an issue, just as we can't easily see both sides of a coin at the same time (without a mirror, at least!). Yet the "opposite" sides are seldom really "contradictions," even if there may be some strong "tensions" between them.

For example, Christians believe that Jesus is both God and human. To a non-Christian, this might seem ridiculous. Even for a Christian, it is hard to understand or explain. How can anything or anyone be both divine and human? Or how can God be both transcendent and immanent? Or how can the Bible be both the Word of God and human literature? Can both creation and evolution be true somehow? Can both science and religion be reconciled? The Catholic answer to all these questions is YES, both the one side and its opposite not only can, but must be held together in tension, even if they seem to be contradictory, in order to understand the whole truth, the whole of the complex reality.

As early Christians were trying to understand the nature of Jesus and define other theological issues, they usually rejected the opinions (later called "heresies") of those who went too far to one side or the other: for example, those who said Jesus was human, but not fully divine (adoptionists), as well as those who believed he was fully divine, but only appeared to be human (docetists).

On some of these issues, all Christians (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox) today agree: God is transcendent/immanent, Jesus is divine/human, etc. On other important issues, however, some Christians maintain that only one side is true, but not the other. The Protestant Reformers of the 16th century emphasized five "solas" (Latin word for "only"): sola scriptura (authority in "Scripture Alone," not also tradition); sola gratia (salvation by "Grace Alone," not also good works); sola fide (justification by "Faith Alone," not also merit); solus Christus (redemption by the saving death of "Christ Alone," not also human action); and solo Dei gloria (live for the "Glory of God Alone," not also ourselves or the world). Catholicism of the 16th century certainly neglected some of these important truths (not always in theory, but at least in practice) and focused too much on their opposing poles (e.g., too much emphasis on tradition, to the neglect of scripture; too much reliance on external works, to the neglect of interior faith, etc.). Yet the Protestants' efforts at reform sometimes moved them too far in the other direction.

Rather than overemphasizing one pole and neglecting the other, the challenge in Christian theology is always to hold the two poles together, to maintain a proper balance between both seemingly opposite sides of the truth. Another way of phrasing the Catholic position would be to say, "Not Only..., But Also..." Here is a list of only some theological issues and the Catholic-Christian answers, which include both poles:

The list could go on and on, but I hope you get the point. Just as every coin has two sides, so the Catholic response to any theological question is not satisfied with either/or choices, with answers that consider only one side. An authentic Catholic-Christian theology always attempts to understand both sides of a reality in all its complexity, and tries to avoid overemphasizing one side while neglecting the other, which leads not only to distortions of the truth but also to unfortunate consequences in practice.

Of course, not everything is best described in complementary pairs, but may also involve triads or more complex combinations. Here is a short list of some triads or "threes" that are important in Christian religion:

Just as groups of four occur frequently in ancient and popular culture (four seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter; four directions: N, S, E, W; four elements: earth, wind, water, fire), some of the most important aspects of biblical Christianity come in groups of four:

Does anyone have suggestions for additions to any of the above? Please email me at fjust--at--calprov.org.

This page last updated on April 7, 2007
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