The church has always struggled against distortions within. Tertullian exposes heresies that tear down instead of building up, Augustine admits only the Scriptures can bow his stiff neck under Christ’s yoke, and Aquinas begins his exploration of the soul’s passions, showing how desire, anger, and fear must be brought under reason and grace (Romans 6:13). Here, discipline, humility, and spiritual order combine to form a life submitted to Christ.

Readings: Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics, Chapters 42–44

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 13, Chapter 15 (Section 17)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 22, Of the Subject of the Soul’s Passions

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I say that discernment must be both doctrinal and pastoral: Tertullian diagnoses heresy as social and ritual disorder that faithful discipline corrects; Augustine comforts the pilgrim who waits for bodily redemption while pursuing spiritual maturity; Aquinas supplies a workable scheme—test the proximate object, ask after the end, assess circumstances and consent—so pastors can form consciences without excusing culpability or condemning the weak. (Matthew 7:15; Romans 13:11; Romans 7:15)

Readings:

Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics, Chapters 39–41

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 14

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 20

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I say that apostolic succession and sacramental continuity form the backbone of trustworthy practice: Tertullian presses the church’s registers and the unity of faith as proof against novelty; Augustine helps me see worship as a re-creation of heaven and earth in Christ, so baptism and Eucharist shape the soul; Aquinas connects inward ordering to outward acts so that right doctrine and right moral formation produce upright practice. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Psalm 42:1; Matthew 28:19)

Readings:

Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics, Chapters 36–38

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapters 13–14

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Questions 19–20

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I say that Scripture functions as the church’s living firmament: Tertullian warns that its very richness supplies materials for counterfeiters who either cut texts or contort meanings, so custody and consistent exegesis matter; Augustine shows me Scripture forming baptismal and liturgical imagination as a “heavenly skin” under which the people are remade; Aquinas reminds me how ignorance, passion, and habit affect responsibility but do not absolve deliberate interior choice, so pastors must teach both text and moral reason. (Galatians 1:8; Genesis 1:3; James 1:14–15)

Readings:

Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics, Chapters 31–33

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 13, Chapter 15

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 18

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I hear the apostolic seed spoken of as the true test: I say that what was first delivered and received widely across the churches bears the apostolic stamp, and that later weeds only pervert that first planting; I hold with Tertullian that lineage, sacrament, martyrdom, and consistent practice are the chief evidences of fidelity, while Augustine’s inward tone reminds me we live by faith and groan toward the fullness of adoption; Aquinas gives me the moral grammar to see why interior intention and proximate object make outward acts either true or false to that apostolic life. (Matthew 13:24–30; Philippians 3:13; Romans 8:23)

Readings:

Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics, Chapters 28–30

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 12

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 17

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I want listeners to notice how the texts press the same pastoral problem from different angles: can the deposit of faith be hidden, corrupted, or diluted? Tertullian answers decisively that the apostles did not hoard doctrine nor teach conflicting gospels; Paul’s rebuke of Peter was a correction of conduct, not a new doctrine, and the churches—rebuked when necessary—were still the channels of apostolic truth. Augustine reminds us that every good thing we receive is by God’s gift; our being-from-darkness into light is an immediate, gracious act that grounds humility and praise. Aquinas (Question 16, combined) brings the moral focus home: use (the will’s act toward means) belongs to deliberation and the will insofar as reason presents means for an end—so faithful practice requires rightly ordered desire, rightly formed reason, and a will that consents in the higher powers. The three readings together press pastoral fidelity: guard the deposit, attend to the Spirit’s gift, and form consent rightly in the life of the will. (1 Tim. 6:20; 2 Tim. 1:14; Gen. 1:3; Psalm 119; Gal. 1:6–9)

Readings:

Tertullian, The Prescription against Heretics, Chapters 25–27

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 13, Chapter 10

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 16, Articles 1–4 (combined)

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I hear a single charge running through these readings: truth entrusted once and for all must be both accurately received and courageously proclaimed. Tertullian insists that the apostles were neither ignorant nor secretive; they received direct instruction from Christ, were strengthened by the Spirit, and preached openly—so attempts to invent a hidden, superior gospel collapse under the weight of Scripture and common testimony. Augustine draws us inward: the gift of the Spirit is the engine of our ascent, not spatial motion but the inward lifting of love that makes us restless for God until we find our rest in him. Thomas Aquinas (Question 15, Articles 3–4) ties the pastoral knot: the will is formally ordered to the end, yet right consent in a concrete agent normally includes assent to the means as shaped by reason; full moral responsibility belongs to the higher faculties even as the lower appetites influence assent. Together these readings move from apostolic authority to inner renewal to ethical formation—one living truth, manifold implications. (Matt. 13:11; Matt. 16:18–19; John 13:23; John 19:26–27; Matt. 17:1–6; Luke 24:27; John 16:12–13; Acts 2; 1 Cor. 9:20–22; 2 Cor. 12:2–4; Gal. 2:11–14; Psalm 122:1)

Readings:

Tertullian, The Prescription against Heretics, Chapters 22–24

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 13, Chapter 9

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 15, Articles 3–4

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Theme: Spirit, counsel, and rightly ordered seeking prepare a soul to receive faith. Tertullian warns that idle curiosity beyond the rule of faith breeds heresy; true inquiry must remain inside the apostolic deposit rather than follow perpetual seekers who never rest. Augustine asks why the Spirit is mentioned over the waters only after the formless creation, and in that ordering he shows how the Spirit’s presence grounds revelation and the making of shape out of chaos — a theological anchor that orients legitimate searching. Aquinas explains how counsel precedes faith as a proximate instrument: good counsel informs the intellect, removes obstacles, and disposes the will so that God may give the supernatural assent; bad counsel hardens and misleads. Taken together they call pastors and neighbors to offer sober, charitable instruction, and call seekers to test counsel by the apostolic rule and by the presence of the Spirit who teaches. (John 14:26; Romans 10:17; James 1:5; Matthew 7:7–8)

• Readings: Tertullian, De Praescriptione Haereticorum, Chapters 13–16

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 6 (Why the Spirit is mentioned)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 14 (Of Counsel which precedes Faith)

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