Saint Thomas Aquinas,
1225 – 7 March 1274), was an Italian Dominican priest, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism. Thomas came from one of the noblest families of
the Kingdom of Naples.. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and the father of Thomism. His influence on Western thought is
considerable, and much of modern philosophy was conceived in development or refutation
of his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory.
Thomas Aquinas was basically a genius
of His day and whilst some of his views are hotly debated today especially his epistemological
method drawn from Aristotle he was an amazing man. For all his great learning he
was also a man of the Spirit and some very interesting spiritual experiences
accompanied his life such as Angelic visitation and the ability to be caught up
into heavenly realms.
Aquinas helped the church in several
areas and developed theological thinking of the time in these issues. He of
course did far more than these and this is but a taste fo some of his amazing
works sucha as Summae Theologiae and Summa Contra Gentiles.
Nature
of God
Thomas believed that the existence of God is self-evident in
itself, but not to us. "Therefore I say that this proposition, "God
exists," of itself is self-evident, for the predicate is the same as the
subject.... Now because we do not know the essence of God, the proposition is
not self-evident to us; but needs to be demonstrated by things that are more
known to us, though less known in their nature — namely, by effects."[91]
Thomas believed that the existence of
God can be proven. In the Summa theologiae, he considered in great
detail five arguments for the existence of God, widely known as the quinque viae (Five Ways).
For
detailed analysis of the five proofs, see Existence of God
For
the original text of the five proofs, see quinque viae
1.
Motion: Some things undoubtedly move, though cannot cause their own
motion. Since, as Thomas believed, there can be no infinite chain of causes of
motion, there must be a First Mover not moved by anything else, and this is
what everyone understands by God.
2.
Causation: As in the case of motion, nothing can cause itself, and an
infinite chain of causation is impossible, so there must be a First Cause,
called God.
3.
Existence of necessary and the unnecessary: Our experience includes
things certainly existing but apparently unnecessary. Not everything can be
unnecessary, for then once there was nothing and there would still be nothing.
Therefore, we are compelled to suppose something that exists necessarily,
having this necessity only from itself; in fact itself the cause for other
things to exist.
4.
Gradation: If we can notice a gradation in things in the sense that some
things are more hot, good, etc., there must be a superlative which is the
truest and noblest thing, and so most fully existing. This then, we call God
-->note Thomas does not ascribe actual qualities to God Himself!
5.
Ordered tendencies of nature: A direction of actions to an end is
noticed in all bodies following natural laws. Anything without awareness tends
to a goal under the guidance of one who is aware. This we call God --> Note
that even when we guide objects, in Thomas' view the source of all our
knowledge comes from God as well.[92]
Concerning the nature of God, Thomas
felt the best approach, commonly called the via negativa, is to consider what God is
not. This led him to propose five statements about the divine qualities:
1.
God is simple,
without composition of parts, such as body and soul, or matter and form.[93]
2.
God is perfect, lacking nothing. That is, God is distinguished from
other beings on account of God's complete actuality.[94] Thomas defined God as the ‘Ipse Actus
Essendi subsistens,’ subsisting act of being.[95]
3.
God is infinite. That is, God is not finite in the ways that created
beings are physically, intellectually, and emotionally limited. This infinity
is to be distinguished from infinity of size and infinity of number.[96]
4.
God is immutable, incapable of change on the levels of God's essence and
character.[97]
5.
God is one, without diversification within God's self. The unity of God
is such that God's essence is the same as God's existence. In Thomas's words,
"in itself the proposition 'God exists' is necessarily true, for in it subject and
predicate are the same."[98]
Following St. Augustine of
Hippo, Thomas defines sin as "a word,
deed, or desire, contrary to the eternal law."[100] It is important to note the
analogous nature of law in Thomas's legal philosophy. Natural law is an
instance or instantiation of eternal law. Because natural law is that which
human beings determine according to their own nature (as rational beings), disobeying
reason is disobeying natural law and eternal law. Thus eternal law is logically
prior to reception of either "natural law" (that determined by
reason) or "divine law" (that found in the Old and New Testaments).
In other words, God's will extends to both reason and revelation. Sin is
abrogating either one's own reason, on the one hand, or revelation on the
other, and is synonymous with "evil" (privation of good. Thomas, like all
Scholastics, generally argued that the findings of reason and data of revelation
cannot conflict, so both are a guide to God's will for human beings.
Thomas’ views on the nature of the
Trinity
Thomas argued that God, while perfectly
united, also is perfectly described by Three Interrelated Persons. These three
persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are constituted by their relations
within the essence of God. Thomas wrote that the term "Trinity"
"does not mean the relations themselves of the Persons, but rather the
number of persons related to each other; and hence it is that the word in
itself does not express regard to another."[102] The Father generates the Son
(or the Word) by the relation of self-awareness. This eternal generation then
produces an eternal Spirit "who enjoys the divine nature as the Love of
God, the Love of the Father for the Word."
This Trinity exists independently from
the world. It transcends the created world, but the Trinity also decided to
give grace to human beings. This takes place through the Incarnation of
the Word in the person of Jesus Christ and through the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit within
those who have experienced salvation by God;
according to Aidan Nichols.[103]
Prima
causa – first cause
Thomas's five proofs for the existence
of God take some of Aristotle's assertions concerning principles of being. For
Thomas, God as prima
causa (first cause) comes from Aristotle's concept of the unmoved mover and asserts that God is the
ultimate cause of all things.[104]
Nature of Jesus Christ
In the Summa Theologica,
Thomas begins his discussion of Jesus Christ by recounting the biblical story
of Adam and Eve and by describing the
negative effects of original sin. The
purpose of Christ's Incarnation was to restore human nature by removing
"the contamination of sin", which humans cannot do by themselves.
"Divine Wisdom judged it fitting that God should become man, so that thus
one and the same person would be able both to restore man and to offer
satisfaction."[105] Thomas argued in favor of the satisfaction
view of atonement; that is, that Jesus Christ died "to satisfy for the whole human
race, which was sentenced to die on account of sin."[106]
Thomas argued against several specific
contemporary and historical theologians who held differing views about Christ.
In response to Photinus, Thomas stated
that Jesus was truly divine and not simply a human being. Against Nestorius, who suggested that Son of God was
merely conjoined to the man Christ, Thomas argued that the fullness of God was
an integral part of Christ's existence. However, countering Apollinaris'
views, Thomas held that Christ had a truly human (rational) soul,
as well. This produced a duality of natures in Christ. Thomas argued against Eutyches that this duality persisted
after the Incarnation. Thomas stated that these two natures existed
simultaneously yet distinguishably in one real human body, unlike the teachings
of Manichaeus and Valentinus.[107]
In short, "Christ had a real
body of the same nature of ours, a true rational soul,
and, together with these, perfect Deity." Thus, there is both
unity (in his one hypostasis)
and composition (in his two natures, human and Divine) in Christ.[108]
I
answer that, The Person or hypostasis of Christ may be viewed in two ways.
First as it is in itself, and thus it is altogether simple, even as the Nature
of the Word. Secondly, in the aspect of person or hypostasis to which it
belongs to subsist in a nature; and thus the Person of Christ subsists in two
natures. Hence though there is one subsisting being in Him, yet there are
different aspects of subsistence, and hence He is said to be a composite
person, insomuch as one being subsists in two.[109]
Echoing Athanasius of
Alexandria, he said that "The only begotten Son of
God...assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."[110] [1]
Learning from the Life of
Aquinas.
It is
easy to be overwhelmed with the questions of life. Making sense of the big
questions can be mind boggling at times. Philosophers through all times have
sought to wrestle with these issues. I agree with Thomas so should Christians.
However at the end of the day I do agree with Karl Barth when he states;
“when
asked in 1962 (on his one visit to America) how he would summarize the essence
of the millionsof words he had published, he replied, "Jesus loves me this
I know, for the Bible tells me so."[2]
So
please excuse my post modern epistemology but like the Apostle John Where in
his First Epistle chapter 1 he states:
1 That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
gazed at, and our hands have handled – concerning the Word of Life! 2That life
was displayed, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and we announce to you
the life of God’s coming age, which was with the father and was displayed to
us. 3That which we have seen and heard, we announce to you too, so that you
also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the father, and
with his son Jesus the Messiah.[3]
When you have met and experienced the
risen Christ made known through the love of the Father and the power of the
Holy Spirit you know, what you know, what you know… and the rest is purely
evidence, but thanks anyhow Thomas…..
Enjoy reading about him.
[1]
Ammended extracts from Thomas Quinas on Wikipedia, Accessed at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas
on 28th of January 2013
[2]
Christian History Quotes Karl Barth, Accessed at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/theologians/barth.html?start=2
on 28th of January 2013
[3] Wright,
T. New Testament for Everyone, The Perseus
Books Group. Kindle Edition. 2011 p. 527.
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