Theology from A Bunch of Dead Guys™

The Medieval Churchmen
"That . . . you might learn not to exceed
what is written" (1 Corinthians 4:6).

he Dark Ages ushered in some dubious trends in theology. Medieval theologians seemed uncertain of how to sort out Scripture from tradition. Whereas the early Ecumenical Church Councils had invariably settled matters on the basis of Scripture, theology in the middle ages began to treat church tradition and ecclesiastical authority as tantamount to the Word of God. (This view was later formally ratified as official Catholic doctrine by the Council of Trent.)
Despite the ruling against semi-Pelagianism by the Council of Orange in 529 A.D., subtle semi-Pelagian tendencies began to infiltrate the church, so that by the time of Trent in the late sixteenth century, the Catholic Church took a position that was almost pure semi-Pelagianism.
During this period, monasticism was on the rise, and Scholasticism became the predominant approach to theology. Scholastic theology relied heavily on speculation and philosophy. Taken to an extreme, it ultimately turned the discipline of theology into pure sophistry. It broadened the gap between clergy and laity, and finally gave rise to the brand of Catholicism against which the Reformers rebelled.
Thomas Aquinas (1225-74), the Master theologian of the Catholic Church, is the dominant figure of this era. In Thomas most of the seeds of Tridentine Catholicism are found. He backed away from Augustine's strong emphasis on the grace of God in salvation. Thomas seemed to see salvation as more of a cooperative effort between God and the sinner.
There were still bright lights in these dark centuries, however. Surely the brightest is Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), whose work on the atonement laid the foundation for the Reformation.