Greatest Mind Of Western Christendom

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In your opinion, who is the greatest mind in the history of Western Christendom? And why?
 
Does this person have to be a Christian? Augustine is the great theologian of the western church, although a poor exegete. Newton and Einstein are the great physicists. Descarte, Newton, Leibnitz for math. For philosophy, and logic, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are the key figures, and the modern philosophers have devolved into what is properly described as absurd, irrational navel-gazing. Bach is the musician that has defined western music more than any other. Chomsky defines linguistics as a science.
 
Sorry gentlemen, I meant theological thinkers.
 
I think one would have to seriously consider Athanasius, the tireless opponent of the dangerous and rampant Arian threat in the early church. As part of that effort he is believed to be the chief author of the Nicene Creed, a simple, theological bulwark that has withstood the ages as the basis of Christic belief for all orthodox Christians. He was also the first to discern the full canon of the New Testament as it came to be accepted by the church. A most impressive resume indeed.
 
If you mean "greatest" in the sense of unique contributions and influence, the consensus seems to be Augustine from what I have gathered.
 
If you mean "greatest" in the sense of unique contributions and influence, the consensus seems to be Augustine from what I have gathered.
Good point. What about purely their intellect, not their unique contributions or influence?
 
I think one would have to seriously consider Athanasius, the tireless opponent of the dangerous and rampant Arian threat in the early church. As part of that effort he is believed to be the chief author of the Nicene Creed, a simple, theological bulwark that has withstood the ages as the basis of Christic belief for all orthodox Christians. He was also the first to discern the full canon of the New Testament as it came to be accepted by the church. A most impressive resume indeed.
Those are some good points. But removed from that historical context, how does he compare to other great minds? If it could be judged in a vacuum.
 
I don't know that there is one who is the greatest, but I would have to throw R. L. Dabney in the ring as one of the greatest theological minds to have known the grace of our Lord.
Can you expand?
 
What about purely their intellect, not their unique contributions or influence?

I don't know what criteria I would use to judge intellect. Some minds make brilliant connections (Augustine?), some minds are incredibly precise (Turretin), some minds handle an enormous amount of ideas and synthesize (Bavinck?). I wouldn't know how to judge which is more powerful, useful, or brilliant compared to one another. There is no objective scale by which we can measure these things.
 
Can you expand?
Here's some snippets from M. H. Smith's doctoral dissertation "Studies in Southern Presbyterian Theology":

Quoting C. T. Thomson, "The Presbyterian Banner of Pittsburgh, Pa., said: 'Several times we have heard the late Rev. Archibald Alexander, D.D. say that he regarded Dr. Dabney as the best teacher of theology in the United States, if not in the whole world.'" (pg. 183)

M. H. Smith likens his teaching methods and emphasis on the using the Bible for teaching to Calvin "and his Geneva Academy and Gymnasium." (pg. 190)

As far as his grasp on philosophical trends and as a contender in the debates between the elites of philosophy, Dabney was incredibly gifted. Here's what Smith says along with quotes he compiled from contemporaries of Dabney, "Suffice it to say, that he was considered by many as one of the greatest students of philosophy that America had yet produced. A. R. Cocke, a well read, and learned man of the time, wrote regarding him: 'Dabney's name will abide because of several distinct additions to the philosophy of the ages as presented in this volume. The Practical Philosophy can take rank beside Kant's Critique of the Practical Reason.'" Although Smith acknowledges that Cocke's claim is a bit overstated, Cocke is rightly quoted by Smith that Dabney would "'appear larger to the men one hundred years from now than he did to his contemporaries.'" (pgs. 191-92)

That's if modern sensibilities don't snuff out the light of great thinkers because of their sins.

As a theologian, Smith says, "Dabney is recognized as one of the greatest of the American Presbyterian theologians of the 19th century. He was recognized by both Bavinck and Lecerf as one of the leading theologians of America. It is always difficult to make comparisons and to rank one man in relation to another. His biographer [Thomas Cary Johnson, no theological slouch himself], however, was bold enough to make the following statement: 'Dabney's Theology marks him out as very much superior to Dr. Charles Hodge as a thinker of profundity and power, and a stimulator of thought.' One may disagree with this conclusion, though Johnson defends the statement in this way. 'Hodge's great three-volume work is very valuable as a sort of encyclopedia of theological belief; but for exposition and vindication of the creed, which they held in common, for wrestling faithfully with hard points, for mastery of difficulties, Dabney is vastly superior.' In this connection, the present writer [that is Morton Smith] would add his word of agreement with Johnson. Hodge gives an excellent, general statement of the Reformed Faith, yet Dabney adds something beyond the general treatment of most subjects....Johnson maintained that 'the three great American theologians of the century [1800s] were Shedd, Thornwell, and Dabney.'" (pgs. 192-93)

He goes on to quote Johnson about the three, but I'll spare you. These are some long quotes with a lot of meat to them. Certainly not short of controversy.
 
Augustine (354-430) and Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274)

These two men are quoted or cited more often by the Reformers and their immediate followers than anyone else.
 
I would have to say Augustine and Aquinas. They have shaped Western Christianity more than any other.
 
John Calvin. And he only lived into his 50s. If you look at every brilliant theologian since the reformation, they build on Calvin.
 
I think it best to leave such questions to our Lord and be content know what honors he will bestow on any when at last we enter into his Kingdom. I am thankful for all of the gifts Christ has given to his church and pray that God will give me the grace to get the greatest good from each one of them as I am able—remembering that these are the tokens of my Lord's ascending love (Eph. 4:10-12).
 
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