Notes on Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas-
Natural Revelation Psalm 19:1-6 God reveals himself through what he made.
Special Revelation- God reveals himself through Scripture and the wisdom of the spirit. Only by special revelation can a person be saved. Law of the Lord
Natural revelation can only take us to the tomb of the Unknown God. Acts.
All knowledge, all truth is God’s truth; everything gives us truth about God.
The Great Synthesis- known for synthesizing all things under God (Athens and Jerusalem). Boethius quotes a lot of Plato, Augustine, Aristotle had been lost to the Arabs but had been recovered. Brings together all streams.
2. Context- Aristotle lost to the west – Aristotle became the voice for truth by reason. Threat of Aristotle- easier to reconcile Plato with Christianity rather than Aristotle Plato was always heavenly minded as opposed to Aristotle who is not looking for the city of heaven but catalogs all things of this world. Aristotle banned because a lot of the things he says conflict with Christianity. Plato and Christianity had been synthesized.
Judaism and Aristotle- Maimonides
Islam and Aristotle- Averroes
Christianity and Aristotle- Aquinas
Whatever is true belongs to God and we need to collect it and bring it under the Christian umbrella.
What are the stakes of the synthesis between Aristotle and Christianity? The integrity of (God’s truth). Averroestits- “double truth theory”. What we embrace as true must not contradict what we hold true in religion. There’s no way there can be 2 types of truth. The first principle of logic is there cannot be contradiction. Aristotle is coming into the west through Islam and bringing these ideas. True truth cannot contradict the scriptures.
Tension between Augustine and Aquinas- Aquinas factoring Aristotle and Augustine factoring in Plato Issues of tension Different attitudes towards creation
Augustine picks up on Pauline teaching of total depravity. Aquinas agrees we need special grace or a supernatural work ….reason enlightened by grace.
Plato vs. Aristotle- heavenly city vs. God’s kingdom on earth- we are to pray that Gods kingdom is lived out on earth yet our hope is in the heavenly city. Balance between both emphasis.

Plato -------→ Augustine---------→Luther/ Protestantism (Faith alone--→Scriptures)
Aristotle--------→ Aquinas/Roman Catholicism---→(Faith and reason)---→tradition and scriptures/ church fathers.
Calvin---→the glory of God in all the things of God. Doctrine and the priesthood of the believers-----→ the shoemaker has just as much a calling as the pastor and we are to do all things for the glory of God.
Theological implications------→ Augustine…..emphasis /sin and fall----Gospel
Aquinas-------→creation----→ telos (end) oriented
(Beatific vision)
Being saved is not the end but it is the beginning of the journey onward.
What is the chief end of man?
The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
We can ascend back to God because he descended to us.
3. Aristotelian influence- End driven theology and ethics.
B. Value of natural reasoning (reason b itself) Scripture plus tradition vs. scripture alone
True truth- God’s truth. What’s the problem with using true truth along with scriptural truth?
The philosopher’s passion is to gather truth to know truth. Finding God’s truth in everything. Aristotle wanted to catalog and study all areas of science. Broadest philosopher as to study the most things Aquinas wants to see all things under God’s truth. The value of natural reasoning is to synthesis the ladders.
Reason Scriptures Revelation
Philosophy Philosophy/Theology Theology Truth that is demonstrated by reason
Reason Reason/ experience Faith
Reason+ 1=1=2
Revealed truth by reason= the existence of God through nature
Scriptures/ Revelation= Trinity/ character of God. Incarnation salvific plan and love
(There can be no contradictions regarding any of this truth). The area of mixed articles- truth that you can learn by reason and revelation you cannot ascend to God by reason along but you need the revelation of the scriptures. There’s nothing wrong with refuting a pagan with his own rules reason without revelation.
Epistemology- the study of knowledge and deriving truth to know
Aquinas knows faith and reason can be reconciled. The God of the Bible created the world so everything that is true comes from God and has its ending in God and it cannot contradict. All truth is God’s truth.
Natural revelation- (God reveals through creation) the heavens declare the glory of God Psalm 19. Mediate revelation- it is not direct but indirect. Direct revelation is the beatific unmediated vision of God. God who is unseen and invisible
*Analogical-
You can use words univocally which means the word means the exact.
Equivocally- the word has lost its meaning in a different context. We can speak about a word that may have other meanings.
Analogically- analogy.
Reason is our imago deo- natural revelation is incomplete. As far as reason can get you is to the existence of the ultimate monotheism. Natural revelation is incomplete but that doesn’t mean we should reject it. Natural revelation is mediate, analogical and complete but only true as far as it goes. Truth reflects God, leads to God, reveals God.
Atheism- the rejection of God – natural revelation an reason for the existence of G-d. All truth is repugnant to the devil so Aquinas tries to gather all truth and throw it In the face of the devil.
Virgil- Reason says I can take you no farther. Grace leads to divine revelation through faith.
If we had to reason our way to salvation it would only reach a very small amunt of people. The gospel reaches even the lowest of men. The lttle old lady in the back of the church cannot reason but all she needs to know is God.
Romans 1- confronting the people with reason alone before he gets into the oracles of God
Every mouth is stopped before God
Natural theology vs. Special revelation theology
Natural theology- what we can by reason study of God through nature
NEW CLASS
Colossions 1:15-20 Christ is the one through whom all things came to be and will reconcile all things ack to himself. Firstborn of all creation, head over all of the church.
Aristotelian influence. – knowledge apart from divine revelation. If u love truth u love wisdom, want to learn about everything. Aristolte is now adding a new voice in the west and plato had been taken in the Christian world view. Aquinas takes some things from Aristotle but throws some things away. All truth belongs to God. You cannot embrace the gospel or see the things of the spirit without God’s intervention. Pagans by the common grace of God have the ability to find truth but it still belongs to God.
Machiavelli, Hume Imperialism- only knowledge comes from senses. Impericist only trusts his senses. Religion and philosophy broke synthesis after Machiavelli.
Faith- there is more than the senses. Driving their faith to the word of God. Natural theology for what little it is it I mediated and is analogical the wisdom of God is different from that of man and it is incomplete. We need divine revelation. We need grace to complete nature. It is important to see that grac in the ultimate sense will complete our human nature until we are glorified. This comes out in practicality when we talk about virtues. 4 cardinal virtues.
1. Wisdom
2. Justice
3. Moderation
4. Justice
Grace does not obliterate nature but completes it. Grace causes nature to ascend to a higher level.
1. Faith
2. Hope
3. Love=7 virtues.

A. Wisdom
B. Justice
C. Moderation
D. Justice
E. Faith
F. Hope
G. Love



Proofs for the existence of God- You can’t fight logic (Its an absolute statement to say there is no absolute truth.)
1. The arguments from Change- Change is everywhere. Someone causes it (unmoved mover). There must be a God…..Dominoes- must be pushed.
2. The arguments of causation. Who causes causes? Is there a first cause, itself uncaused? Aquinas says there is an uncaused cause. The world is an effect. What caused it?
3. The argument from contingency- a necessary being. Something that has to be in the ultimate sense.
4. The argument for the degrees of excellence. We notice degrees of excellence in nature. This implies the notion of perfection; there must be a perfect being. (Various levels of goodness or perfection). Is there a finish line to the morality race. ) There must be the best.
5. The argument from harmony. Fish have water to swim in as well as fins. There is a designer. God. (Cosmological argument). Based on creation. There is no way that there is not a creator.
Aristotles 4 causes-
1. Formal cause-worker
2. Material-marble
3. Efficient-tools
4. Final cause-statue
Hierarchy- everything has its place. Categorizing of the angels. Writing a lot about angels. Angelic Dr. ST> THOMAS AQUINAS.
Natural order of creation. Creation is made in a natural order.
1. God created the world in wisdom so that the world is well ordered and good. If these guys want to live without God they will essentially eventually get what they wanted.
2. All creation bears the fingerprint of God.
3. Living things share in the life of God. (being). Necessary being and gradations. Matter is dependant on God and must derive its being from God.

The Great chain of being- everything has a gradation of being.
God being at the top and matter being at the bottom just before nothingness The ant has nephras. Apart from God as a necessary being there cannot be the substance or sustination of anything. There is a realm of the visible and theinvisible. How do we cross the line- analogy. Grace. Reason alone cannot get us to God.
There is an infinite gap between the creator and the uncreated.
Impericism. Hobbs- Social contracture
The life in any creature is not absent from God. Life in the swaying branches. Sharing the life of God there is no life outside of God does not create independent life The fountain of life is God and all things have their being in him.

Application-
1. Not emanation- (spill over)- Creation is a spill over of God. Pg 189-93 199 God did not have a need to create but he wanted to according to his will. Everything he created is according to his goodness. NOT pantheism. Worship the creator not the created. The universe is not God body.
The very things the world despises is what we glory in. Isaiah 53
Philippians 2 Suffering is necessary for glory.
Aquinas- Left over’s……
Law-
1. Ordination of reason
2. For the common good
3. Promulgated by authority
4 kinds of law-
1. Eternal law- the way God governs the universe by divine reason
2. Natural law- the expression of law by nature….union between man and woman can produce children. Socrates- it is against nature.
3. Human law- Seeks to establish natural law or human government and society
4. Divine law
All laws had the goal of the common good and morality in general. Our purpose is to live virtuously.
Just War-
1. Authority of ruler to engage in war.
2. Just cause- response to an offence
3. Right intentions
What is the final good that comes about by engaging in the conflict.
Grace perfects it doesn’t undo nature.