Theology and Sanity: A Review
Frank J. Sheed wants his book THEOLOGY and SANITY to be read as a systematic theology: The index of his book already indicates that. There is also a consistent methodological approach. Sheed expands a personal insight of the doctrine of the Trinity and applies it to the human intellect. God knows himself perfectly as an idea of Himself and the human intellect by virtue of being structured in the image of God, likewise, is capable of generating and forming perfect ideas about reality and his own person. Sheed is solidly located in the greater catholic tradition in that he is insisting on the teaching authority of the church. For him only the church is the final authority and revelation of the laws of reality. But at the same time he declares these same laws as plain fact. Are these laws of reality plain facts as they ought to be self evident to all men? For Sheed, certainly, and for sane people, definitely, they are self evident. A special devotion he displays for the virtue of suffering. Not only is suffering presented as a way of discipleship but he considers personal suffering as redemptive. Here he reveals himself as an exponent of a certain catholic piety. But recently, the highest church authorities have voiced caution about a theology that glorifies personal suffering while diminishing the unique sacrifice of Christ. Sheed would have to present a discussion at this point and at least clarify his position. He is also very strident about free will. He states free will as a simple fact. But officially that issue has not been settled. The Dominicans and the Jesuits continue to hold to their respective positions. The catholic catechism is very careful about the issue and will state both positions without any attempt to adjudicate the controversy. Sheed again fails to present a careful discussion about the controversy, which any proper theology would have done. Consistent with his views about free will, Sheed absolutely insists on man’s cooperation in the work of redemption. He even quotes Aquinas but Aquinas himself would use a different term, divine participation. The principle is that God’s grace is not contrary to nature and redemption involves the entire man. But cooperation puts equal weight on man’s efforts while divine participation preserves the prevenient grace of God. A proper theology would discuss such issues, issues where there is room for discussion and where the church is silent. In the opinion of this reviewer, Sheed’s book must be read critically.
Responses
I appreciate the careful review. I think, however, that some of the criticisms may be asking Theology and Sanity to be a different kind of book than Frank Sheed intended it to be.
Although the book is systematic in its organization, it is not a graduate textbook surveying every theological controversy or presenting competing schools of thought with equal weight. Sheed was primarily a catechist and apologist. His purpose was to show that the doctrines of the Catholic faith form a coherent vision of reality that can be grasped by the ordinary intellect.
On free will, for example, Sheed certainly writes with confidence, but the existence of debates between Thomists and Molinists concerns how divine grace and human freedom are reconciled, not whether human beings possess genuine freedom. Both schools affirm free will while differing over the metaphysical explanation. In that sense, Sheed is writing well within the boundaries of Catholic teaching.
Likewise, I think “cooperation” and “divine participation” are not necessarily opposing concepts. Catholic theology has long held that grace is prevenient—that every good act begins with God’s initiative—while also affirming that human beings freely cooperate with that grace. The Council of Trent itself speaks of this cooperation without implying equality between God’s action and ours.
Regarding suffering, I agree that modern Catholic theology rightly emphasizes that Christ’s sacrifice is unique and sufficient. Yet there is also a longstanding tradition, rooted in passages such as Colossians 1:24, that Christians may unite their sufferings with Christ’s. I did not read Sheed as suggesting that personal suffering adds to the objective work of redemption, but rather that it participates in the life of Christ through grace. If his language occasionally reflects an earlier devotional style, it should perhaps be interpreted in that historical context.
Finally, I would hesitate to characterize Sheed’s repeated references to the “laws of reality” as claims that every doctrine is self-evident. Rather, his argument seems to be that reality itself is intelligible because it is grounded in the Logos, and that theology, properly understood, is the disciplined effort to understand what God has revealed—not to replace reason, but to complete it.
I certainly agree that any theological work should be read critically. At the same time, I think Theology and Sanity remains valuable precisely because it attempts something increasingly rare: presenting the Catholic faith as a unified intellectual vision rather than as a collection of isolated doctrines.
Mr. Sheed clarifies his target audience and purpose of the work: "This book contains theology , not the great mass of it that theologians need, but the indispensable minimum that every man needs in order that he may be living mentally in the real world.." pg7. He also tries to avoid complex theological terms such as "hypostatic union" (which he was criticized for the omission) pg 10.
I think this work was not intended to defend the doctrinal premises per se , but to illustrate how our world system makes sense -- more sense than otherwise -- given these doctrines (hence "sanity").
If there is a serious difference of the terms "cooperation" and "divine participation", then catholic theology is not as monolithic as it is presented by Sheed. This reviewer still thinks that this issue in particular must be critically discussed before THEOLOGY and SANITY can be read as an authoritative account of the catholic faith, which, in agreement with Sheed, itself is the function of sanity...
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