that faith by corrupting it."41 To the extent that a heretic does affirm certain truths of the faith (e.g., God exists, God is one, God became incarnate), that person's intellectual assent is not based on the authority of God as the First Truth or moved by the will informed by grace. Rather, as Aquinas notes, such a one holds to those articles of faith "otherwise than by faith," and "by his own will and judgment," and moreover, with "many false opinions."42 And note, again, "unbelief" in the relevant sense is not "pure negation" or "mere absence,"43 but rather involves resistance to and rejection of that which is true, which are nothing but the acceptance of that which is false. Heretics, then, are to be counted among the unbelievers in the proper sense.

The unbelief that characterizes heresy is, for Aquinas, distinct from what he simply considers "error." He recognizes that those who dissent from this or that article of faith but do so because they are unaware that such dissent is against the faith are different from those who dissent obstinately, from heretics. Aquinas states, "It is evident that a heretic who obstinately disbelieves one article of faith, is not prepared to follow the teaching of the Church in all things; but if he is not obstinate, he is no longer in heresy, but only in error [solum errans]."44 The volitional component of unbelief is further highlighted when Aquinas notes that explicit belief in all articles is not necessary for the habit of faith, but rather the willingness to believe. He observes, "A man who obstinately disbelieves a thing that is of faith, has not the habit of faith, and yet he who does not explicitly believe all, while he is prepared to believe all, has the habit."45 According to Aquinas, those simply in error are those who assent to what is in fact false, but through ignorance or poor formation and not by virtue of willful dissent. As such, then, they are not, in the technical sense, counted among those infideles who are guilty of the sin of unbelief.

In his treatment of belief and unbelief, Aquinas also discusses the situation of both apostates (apostata) and the demons (daemonum).

41 ST II-II, q. 10, a. 6, resp .: "ei renituntur corrumpentes ipsam."42 Respectively: ST II-II, q. 5, a. 3, resp .: "aliomodo ... quam per fidem" (note also ST II-II, q. 5, a. 3, ad 1 and ad 2); ST II-II, q. 5, a. 3, ad 1:"propria voluntate et iudicio"; and ST II-II, q. 10, a. 5, ad 1: "diversas falsas sententias."43 See ST II-II, q. 10, a. 1, resp., and ST II-II, q. 10, a. 6, resp.44 ST II-II, q. 5, a. 3, resp .: "Et sic manifestum est quod haereticus qui pertinaciter discredit unum articulum non est paratus sequi in omnibus doctrinam Ecclessiae (si enim non pertinaciter, iam non est haereticus, sed solum errans)."45 ST II-II, q. 5, a. 4, ad 1: "Quod ille qui pertinaciter discredit aliquid eorum quae sub fide continentur non habet habitum fidei, quem tamen habet ille qui non explicite omnia credit, sed paratus est omnia credere."

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Infideles et Philosophi: Re-Reading ST II-II, q. 2, a. 2, ad 3

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