St. Thomas Aquinas
Owen Zimmermann 11-20-11
Mrs.Donofree Rel. Pd. B
St. Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher, theologian, Doctor of the Catholic Church, and is the patron saint of Catholic Universities, colleges, and schools. He was born in Rocca Secca, Italy, in 1225 and was born into a wealthy family. He even was related to the kings of Aragon, Castile, and France. His journey into Catholic beliefs seemed predestined, for he was told when he was a young child that he would become a friar and no one would be equal to him. He started his questioning of faith and religion when he was a youngster, frequently asking his teachers, “What is God?” Saint Thomas was a panentheist, meaning that he arrives through logical argument at the conclusion that God must be present in all things. In humans He is especially present, through grace, as the Holy Spirit. Saint Thomas also said that we can know and love God, but we cannot fully comprehend him in our time here on Earth. Saint Thomas had five main reasons for the knowledge of the existence of God. I will now expound on these five points in detail. Saint Thomas Aquinas’ first way to prove the existence of God was the argument of motion. By his common observation he was able conclude that an object is put into motion by some other object or force. From this, Aquinas believed that there had to be an unmoved mover who first put things in motion. That is where he concluded that God exists. His summary of this statement went as followed: 1) Nothing can move itself. 2) If every object in motion had a mover, then the first object in motion needed a mover. 3) This beginning mover is the unmoved mover, called God. The second approach of Saint Thomas’ evidence that there is a God was the cause of existence. He concluded that no object creates itself, in effect there had to be a God who began the chain of existence for all things. The way Aquinas explained this was as follows: 1) There exists things that are caused or
Mrs.Donofree Rel. Pd. B
St. Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher, theologian, Doctor of the Catholic Church, and is the patron saint of Catholic Universities, colleges, and schools. He was born in Rocca Secca, Italy, in 1225 and was born into a wealthy family. He even was related to the kings of Aragon, Castile, and France. His journey into Catholic beliefs seemed predestined, for he was told when he was a young child that he would become a friar and no one would be equal to him. He started his questioning of faith and religion when he was a youngster, frequently asking his teachers, “What is God?” Saint Thomas was a panentheist, meaning that he arrives through logical argument at the conclusion that God must be present in all things. In humans He is especially present, through grace, as the Holy Spirit. Saint Thomas also said that we can know and love God, but we cannot fully comprehend him in our time here on Earth. Saint Thomas had five main reasons for the knowledge of the existence of God. I will now expound on these five points in detail. Saint Thomas Aquinas’ first way to prove the existence of God was the argument of motion. By his common observation he was able conclude that an object is put into motion by some other object or force. From this, Aquinas believed that there had to be an unmoved mover who first put things in motion. That is where he concluded that God exists. His summary of this statement went as followed: 1) Nothing can move itself. 2) If every object in motion had a mover, then the first object in motion needed a mover. 3) This beginning mover is the unmoved mover, called God. The second approach of Saint Thomas’ evidence that there is a God was the cause of existence. He concluded that no object creates itself, in effect there had to be a God who began the chain of existence for all things. The way Aquinas explained this was as follows: 1) There exists things that are caused or