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I recall reading some years ago in some Christian publication that "God did not become man in order for man to become a theologian." The quote has stuck with me but I cannot recall who said it.

Does anyone know what the exact quote is and who said it?

DDS
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  • Sounds like something a Modernist would say. – Geremia Aug 04 '23 at 23:34
  • @Geremia Was St. Ambrose a modernist? :) – DDS Aug 04 '23 at 23:40
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    Until you can provide me the original Latin source of the alleged St. Ambrose quote, I'm highly skeptical. (cf. this "viral" quote misattributed to St. Augustine.) – Geremia Aug 04 '23 at 23:52
  • The alleged quote is against theologians/theology. "God became man so some men could become theologians" would make more sense. – Geremia Aug 04 '23 at 23:57
  • @Geremia I interpret the quote as man does not need to be a theologian in order to be saved. Let's please leave it at that. Perhaps you will upvote Matthew's good answer to the question posed---as I am not able to. Some malcontent down-voted it for an unknown reason. I have noticed that this site tends to be aggressively negative. – DDS Aug 05 '23 at 00:09
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    I downvoted it because it doesn't give a shred of evidence it comes from St. Ambrose. It's an argument based on the authority of Samuel A. Nigro, and arguments based on authority are the weakest (unless the authority is God Himself). – Geremia Aug 05 '23 at 00:17
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    @Geremia, that seems a little unfair considering I basically said as much. I don't really have the resources to go chasing it further back personally, however I would argue that turning up an alleged attribution is still useful and relevant; even if the attribution is wrong, it's more information than the OP had, and it's possible the OP came across the quote from the same source. – Matthew Aug 05 '23 at 04:10
  • The proper attribution would be to Samuel A. Nigro, then, not St. Ambrose. – Geremia Aug 05 '23 at 04:48
  • @Geremia It sounds more like something a Modernist would cite because it appealed to their sensibilities and thus something an anti-Modernist would feel compelled to argue against, yet there are orthodox/traditional interpretations that would be fitting – eques Aug 09 '23 at 13:23

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Google may or may not be your friend. I found what appears to be a book of quotes containing the following:

God did not become man so that man could become a theologian.
     — Saint Ambrose

(Source.)

If that book can be trusted, I suppose that qualifies as "the exact quote and who said it", but it doesn't give a source or provide any context. Not exactly helpful...

There's also this, which cites an even less helpful source "I remember being told in a theology class in college"...

Matthew
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  • That undoubtedly is it! Thank you. I tried to upvote, but the system wouldn't let me. Maybe I can later with more points. – DDS Aug 04 '23 at 23:38
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This quote is very likely spurious, because it seems to disparage theologians, though it is attributed (again, without an exact reference) to St. Ambrose by the prominent lay Catholic theologian Ralph McInerny, in What Went Wrong with Vatican II: The Catholic Crisis Explained p. 96, where he explains "That means among other things that one need not be a theologian in order to be a Christian, or a saint."

St. Ambrose did write (Commentary on St. Luke's Gospel bk. 5 n. 46, p. 133):

He came down to meet our wounds, so that by associating with us He might make us sharers in His heavenly nature.

St. Augustine said in a Christmas sermon (xiii de Temp., as quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica III q. 1 a. 2 co.):

God was made man, that man might be made God.

factus est Deus homo, ut homo fieret Deus.

Geremia
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    Many theologians have said things that disparage the role of theologian. – Mary Aug 05 '23 at 01:01
  • I thought St. Athanasius uttered something like your last quote? https://www.catholic.com/qa/what-so-that-we-might-become-god-means – DDS Aug 05 '23 at 01:48
  • My friend, I don't know if you are, or were a Catholic, but from the sources you quote, perhaps you may be interested in this: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/735120. If you are a theologian, I meant no malice by the question I posed. Consider St. Thomas More and his condemnation of the laxity of clerics---yet he had the greatest admiration for his friend, the most loyal and holy bishop (Cardinal) Fisher. – DDS Aug 05 '23 at 02:21
  • @Mary Please provide examples. – Geremia Aug 05 '23 at 04:45
  • @Garfunkel Sanctity is required to be a theologian. Demons have darkened intellects. – Geremia Aug 05 '23 at 05:23
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    Some theologians, I have witnessed, have very dark intellects. I doubt it is possible that you haven't noticed. – DDS Aug 05 '23 at 07:32
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    Sanctity is required to be a saint. Many saints are not capable of being theologians. And there have been many theologians who aren't saints. – Mary Aug 05 '23 at 15:02