Whether Charity Can Be Without Faith and Hope?
Objection 1: It would seem that charity can be without faith and
hope. For charity is the love of God. But it is possible for us to
love God naturally, without already having faith, or hope in future
bliss. Therefore charity can be without faith and hope.
Obj. 2: Further, charity is the root of all the virtues, according to
Eph. 3:17: "Rooted and founded in charity." Now the root is sometimes
without branches. Therefore charity can sometimes be without faith
and hope, and the other virtues.
Obj. 3: Further, there was perfect charity in Christ. And yet He had
neither faith nor hope: because He was a perfect comprehensor, as we
shall explain further on (III, Q. 7, AA. 3, 4). Therefore charity can
be without faith and hope.
_On the contrary,_ The Apostle says (Heb. 11:6): "Without faith it is
impossible to please God"; and this evidently belongs most to
charity, according to Prov. 8:17: "I love them that love me." Again,
it is by hope that we are brought to charity, as stated above (Q. 62,
A. 4). Therefore it is not possible to have charity without faith and
hope.
_I answer that,_ Charity signifies not only the love of God, but also
a certain friendship with Him; which implies, besides love, a certain
mutual return of love, together with mutual communion, as stated in
_Ethic._ viii, 2. That this belongs to charity is evident from 1 John
4:16: "He that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him,"
and from 1 Cor. 1:9, where it is written: "God is faithful, by Whom
you are called unto the fellowship of His Son." Now this fellowship
of man with God, which consists in a certain familiar colloquy with
Him, is begun here, in this life, by grace, but will be perfected in
the future life, by glory; each of which things we hold by faith and
hope. Wherefore just as friendship with a person would be impossible,
if one disbelieved in, or despaired of, the possibility of their
fellowship or familiar colloquy; so too, friendship with God, which
is charity, is impossible without faith, so as to believe in this
fellowship and colloquy with God, and to hope to attain to this
fellowship. Therefore charity is quite impossible without faith and
hope.
Reply Obj. 1: Charity is not any kind of love of God, but that love
of God, by which He is loved as the object of bliss, to which object
we are directed by faith and hope.
Reply Obj. 2: Charity is the root of faith and hope, in so far as it
gives them the perfection of virtue. But faith and hope as such are
the precursors of charity, as stated above (Q. 62, A. 4), and so
charity is impossible without them.
Reply Obj. 3: In Christ there was neither faith nor hope, on account
of their implying an imperfection. But instead of faith, He had
manifest vision, and instead of hope, full comprehension [*See above,
Q. 4, A. 3]: so that in Him was perfect charity.
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