| rdfs:comment | - The Summa Theologica ("highest theology" or the Summa Theologiæ or simply the Summa, written 1265–1274) is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274) although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of that time. It summarizes the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, which, before the Protestant Reformation, subsisted solely in the Roman Catholic Church. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God, God's creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God. It is famous for its five arguments for the existence of God, the Quinquae viae (Latin: five ways). Throughout his work, Aquinas cites Augustine of Hippo, Aristotle, and other Christian
- The Summa Theologica is the magnum opus of St. Thomas Aquinas, a 13th century theologian and a seminal work. It is, perhaps, the defining document for medieval theology. Although not principally an apologetic work, the summa does address the question of god's existence as Question 2 of it's first part. Specifically, in Article 3 Aquinas raises five "proofs" (or "Ways") of the existence of god: The "First Way" is the Cosmological Argument from an Unmoved Mover (change), followed by a Cosmological Argument from a First Cause (cause). The third so-called proof is an Argument from Contingency.
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| abstract | - The Summa Theologica is the magnum opus of St. Thomas Aquinas, a 13th century theologian and a seminal work. It is, perhaps, the defining document for medieval theology. Although not principally an apologetic work, the summa does address the question of god's existence as Question 2 of it's first part. Specifically, in Article 3 Aquinas raises five "proofs" (or "Ways") of the existence of god: The "First Way" is the Cosmological Argument from an Unmoved Mover (change), followed by a Cosmological Argument from a First Cause (cause). The third so-called proof is an Argument from Contingency. The fourth is an Ontological Argument from perfection. Note that Aquinas rejects Anselm's version of the argument in Article 1, Reply to Objection 2. His fifth so-called proof is a Teleological Argument, an argument from design (spefically, from the design apparent in the ways inanimate things behave, according to Aquinas). Aquinas lived before Darwin and did not understand how Natural selection can cause complexity in life. Aquinas also aparently believed that inanimate objects have a purpose, for example that the sun and moon exist in order to give light. Water moves downhill in order to join streams, rivers and the sea -or to evaporate in a dust bowl. It should be noted that Aquinas also attempts to refute the Argument from Evil (quoting Augustine), and the Argument from Simplicity. Thanks to the modern wonder of the Internet, and the generosity and kindness of newadvent.org, there is easily searchable and readable Engligh version of the Summa Theologica online [1].
- The Summa Theologica ("highest theology" or the Summa Theologiæ or simply the Summa, written 1265–1274) is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274) although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of that time. It summarizes the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, which, before the Protestant Reformation, subsisted solely in the Roman Catholic Church. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God, God's creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God. It is famous for its five arguments for the existence of God, the Quinquae viae (Latin: five ways). Throughout his work, Aquinas cites Augustine of Hippo, Aristotle, and other Christian, Jewish and even Muslim and ancient pagan scholars. The Summa Theologica is a more mature and structured version of Aquinas's earlier Summa Contra Gentiles. This earlier work was more apologetic, each article refuting a belief of a heresy.
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