Faith and Rationality; a Comparative Study of the Views of Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther

The question of the relationship between faith and rationality and marking the boundaries between them has long been the subject of inquiry in Christianity; an important subject which is concerned with individual's religious beliefs and which has been a matter of serious dispute among great Christian scholars. Since Thomas Aquinas is among the greatest theologians of Catholic Church and Martin Luther is one of the most effective figures of the Protestant Church, and because they have exerted great influence on the thoughts of the followers of these two schools, it is necessary to make a comparison between the thoughts of each of them on this issue. Using an analytical approach and citing documentary proofs, this paper seeks to make a comparative study of the question of faith and rationality according to the views of each of these two distinguished Christian figures. Undoubtedly, understanding their approaches can contribute enormously to forming a very accurate picture of these eminent and important Christian Churches. The findings of this paper suggest that Aquinas is a non-extremist rationalist and Luther is a non-extremist fideist. Although in general they accept the two elements of faith and rationality, they have serious differences over the intellectual principles.