3. Doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Af/es.—The. Scholastics regarded faith as an ac- ceptance of the supersensual as far as it belongs to re- ligion, ditfering both from intuition and from knowl- edge; and although essentially of a theoretic character, yet conditioned by the consent of the will, which, how- ever, in the description of faith, is reduced to a niinimum. Originally only God is an object of faith, but mediately also the holy Scriptures; as a summary of the Biblical doctrines, the Apostles' Creed, and, as its explication, the entire doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. As an accurate knowledge of the doctrines of the Church cannot be expected from every one, the subjective dis- tinction was made between ^/'V/e.t implicita and erplicita ; the former sufficient for the people, yet with the demand of a developed belief in some chief articles. There was, however, a difference of opinion on what these articles were, and even Thomas Aquinas wavered in his views. Faith may, even upon earth, partly become a science, and appears in this respect only as the popular form of religion. It is a condition of salvation, but becomes a virtue only when love, as animating principle [forma], pervades it [fides formata] ; with a mere faith [infor- misj one may be damned. The fides formata includes the necessity of the good works for salvation, but they
must be founded in pious sentiment. All other works, not proceeding from faith, are dead, though not entirely useless. The necessity of good works is fidly carried out only by the inculcation of penance as satisfactiones, but with constant reference to a miion of the soul with Christ, and the moral effect of the good works. Justi- fication, according to Thomas Aquiiias, is a movement from the state of injustice into the state of justice, in which the remission of sins is the main point, though it is conditioned bj' an infusion of grace which actually justifies men. As an act of God which establishes in man a new state [habitus], it is accomplished in a mo- ment. Among the people the Pelagian views prevail- ed, that man, by merely outward works, had to gain his salvation, and the Church became, especially through the tratfic in indulgences, a prey to the immoral and insipid worship of ceremonies. In opposition to this corruption, many of the pious Mystics pointed to the Pauline doctrine of faith.
4. Doctrine of the Reformers of the l&th Century and the old Protestant Dof/matics.—The Reformation of the IGth century renewed the Pauline doctrine of justifica- tion by faith alone, emphasizing, in the sense of Augus- tine, the entire helplessness of man, and made it the fundamental doctrine of the Reformed Church. This faith is represented as not merely an acceptance of his- toric facts, but is distinguished as fdes specialis from the general religious conviction, arising amidst the ter-. rors of conscience, and consisting in an entire despair of one's own merit and a confident surrender to the mercy of God in the atoning death of Christ. Worked by Goil, it does not work as virtue or merit, but merely through the apprehension of the merit of Christ. Its necessity lies in the impossibility of becoming reconciled with God through one's own power. Hence this reconciliation is impossible through good works, which are not necessary for salvation, though God rewards them, according to his promise, upon earth and in heaven ; but, as a neces- sary consequence, the really good works wiU flow forth from faith freely and copiouslj'. The opinion of Ams- dorf, that good works are an obstacle to salvation, was re- garded as an unfortunate cx\ irossion, which may be taken in a true sense, though it is false if understood in a gen- eral sense. As man is unable to satisfy the law, super- erogatory works and a satisfaction through one's own works are impossible. Justification through love is im- possible, because man cannot love God truly amidst the terrors of conscience. Hence justification is a divine judicial act, which, through the apprehension of the jus- tice of Christ, apprehended in faith, accepts the sinner as just, though lie is not just. This strict distinction between justification and sanctification was maintained on the one hand against Scholasticism, which, through its Pelagian tendencies, seemed to offend against the honor of Christ, and to be unable to satisfy conscience, and on the other hand against Osiander, who regarded justification as being completed only in sanctification. The works even of the regenerated, according to the natiu-al side, were regarded by the Reformers as sins. The Reformed theology in general agreed with the doc- trine of justification as stated above, yet did not make it to the same extent the fundamental doctrine of the whole theology. According to Calvin, justification and sanctification took place at the same time. The dog- matic writers of the Lutheran Church distinguished in faith knowledge, assent, and confidence, assigning the former two to the intellect, the latter to the will. From the fcksf/eneralis they distingnished the justifying faith (specialis seu salvifica), and rejected the division into fdes informis et formata. As a distinguishing mark, they demanded from a true faith that it be efficient in charity. For works they took the Decalogue as a rule; a certain necessity of works w^as strictly limited. But, however firmly they clung in general to the conception of justification as something merely external (actus fo- rcnsis) and foreign (imputatio justitia? Christi), some dogmatic writers held that justification had really