The Saint vs. the Scholar: The Fight Between Faith and Reason

And there is, in fact, hope to be gleaned from the study of these two giants of medieval thought. The year is 1140. The other is Peter Abelard, widely agreed to be the era's most brilliant thinker, a medieval rock star among students in the universities of Europe and on the Paris social scene. Bernard has accused Peter of heresy and insolence before God, a charge for which Bernard has the power to order Peter executed. This intense, emotional and partisan clash between two men, the ways in which the scholar provokes the saint's outrage, and the final outcome of the battle will change the course of history - and frame the conflict between reason and faith that continues to inflame passions to this day. On one side is Bernard of Clairvaux, a counselor and selector of popes who will be called "Saint" even before his death. It is these delicacies, as well as what prevented the two men from recognizing them, that provide insights into exactly how we modern Christians might still recover from this regrettable - and avoidable - conflict that has reverberated through the ages.. Inside an imposing cathedral in France's Champagne region, two of the most recognized men in the world are about to face each other in a contest of wills and a test of faith. How much, it turns out, Bernard and Peter actually

like a listing in the phone directory Dennis P. McGeehan Before reading The Saint vs. The Scholar, I was aware of the names Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux. That is where my knowledge of them ended, their names, like a listing in the phone directory.Now, after reading the book, I am intrigued and may search out more information on these two medieval giants. Bernard was a Pope maker, a one man Conclave. Peter was an innovator, the Steve Jobs of his era, and similar in personality as well.Both men played large in the doings of their times and despite, or should I say because of, their zeal for God, were bound to have a clash of wills.The