BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter’s Square
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Two Theological Models in Comparison: Bernard and Abelard
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In my last Catechesis I presented the main features of 12th-century monastic theology and scholastic theology which, in a certain sense, we might call respectively “theology of the heart” and “theology of reason”. Among the exponents of both these theological currents a broad and at times heated discussion developed, symbolically represented by the controversy between St Bernard of Clairvaux and Abelard.
In order to understand this confrontation between the two great teachers it helps to remember that theology is the search for a rational understanding, as
