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Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274)
Dominican Monk Primary work was
Summa Theologica Wanted to make a
science of faith Christian
philosophy: “Reason does not destroy faith but perfects it”
Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274)
Combined medieval theology and Aristotelian philosophy
Aristotle explained what things are
Aquinas explained how they got that way God did it
God’s Divine Attributes
Omnipotence: God is perceived
doctrinally as all-powerful.
God created the world ex-nihilo (from nothing)
Immutability: God is unchanging.
Eternally: God exists at any
and all moments of time.
Omniscience: God is all-knowing. God knows in a way
beyond human understanding.
Omni-benevolence: God is all good.
Summa Theologica 631 Questions on
Christian Philosophy Existence of God Creation of women Economics/Charity Free will Natural Law Evil
The Problem of Evil
If the Cosmic Designer is the theistic, omnipotent and benevolent God, then why is the world so full of evil? Mass destruction/War Disease Creatures torturing and killing other creatures Disco Pain Illness
Why would a benevolent God let such things happen?
Why would an omnipotent God create a world where such things have to happen?
Does God Exist? At the beginning of Summa
Theologica, Thomas Aquinas admitted that the existence of evil is the best argument against the existence of God.
So?Either God exists and Evil doesn’t
orGod doesn’t exist and Evil does
Objections & Responses Objection 1:
There is evil so God can’t exist. Objection 2:
Nature and Will explain everything. Response 1:
Evil exists to produce good. Response 2:
Nature needed something to start it.Will needs a direction.
“The existence of God can be proved in five ways”
Argument from Motion Efficient Cause Possibility and Necessity Gradation to be Found in Things Governance of Things
Argument from Motion Something set the universe in motion
Sounds like Isaac Newton “borrowed” from Aquinas
For Christians, that something was God
“Prime Mover” Theory
Efficient Cause Aristotle, Aquinas and the causal
argument If A causes B, and B causes C, then A
causes C But what happens if A does not occur?
Neither B nor C will occur either The causal chain must, therefore, have a
beginning, and that beginning is God God is A
From Possibility to Necessity In Nature things that are possible are either,
to be - they are created, or not to be, they are destroyed
If at one time nothing was in existence, it would have been impossible for anything to have begun to exist Big Bang Theory?
Every necessary thing is caused by another God caused everything to exist “Creator” Theory
Argument of Perfection Things in the world are in gradations
of less or more: good, noble, hot Therefore there must be something
that is best, or perfect and that is… Mr. Kelly
Argument of Perfection Things in the world are in gradations
of less or more: good, noble, hot Therefore there must be something
that is best, or perfect and that is… God
Governance of Things Things that lack being are imperfect Natural/imperfect bodies act for an end, to
obtain the best result They achieve their goal not by chance, but
by design Who ordered things to their end, directed
them, God, in the same way that “the arrow is directed by the archer”
“Intelligent Design” Theory