James V. Schall, S. J.
Georgetown University, DC 20057-1200
St Thomas asks in Question 46, a. 3, which asks, "whether there was some more convenient or apt way to free the human race than through the Passion of Christ?"
Now Aquinas, surprisingly perhaps, does not deny that our redemption could have been effected otherwise. By a simple act of His will, per solam Dei voluntatem, the Father could have liberated us, Thomas tells us. But when God does not act in the way we would have Him act, this difference gives us occasion to wonder if there is not more to it than meets our eyes. God does not just redeem us in a way that has nothing to do with us, or with our understanding of what is going on.
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