Thomas Aquinas and questions about revelation


Thomas Aquinas
Now let us look at Thomas Aquinas who is still the main theologian for Roman Catholic Theology.  Concerning Nature and whether or not God can be known, Aquinas gives a whole list of questions; Obviously anyone interested in God and revelation should at least read what he has to say.  I’m not saying that you will agree but he should be read.  Aquinas raises questions that every theologian should know about.   In the section “Whether God can be known in this life
by natural reason?” You will see he quotes from Romans 1 19. 

These quotations below are taken from the Ages Christian library cd  version 6 pdf.

Question 12
Questions in this section are
HOW GOD IS KNOWN BY US
(THIRTEEN ARTICLES)
As hitherto we have considered God as He is in Himself, we now go on to
consider in what manner He is in the knowledge of creatures; concerning
which there are thirteen points of inquiry:
(1) Whether any created intellect can see the essence of God?
(2) Whether the essence of God is seen by the intellect through any
created image?
(3) Whether the essence of God can be seen by the corporeal eye?
(4) Whether any created intellectual substance is sufficient by its own
natural powers to see the essence of God?
(5) Whether the created intellect needs any created light in order to see
the essence of God?
(6) Whether of those who see God, one sees Him more perfectly than
another?
(7) Whether any created intellect can comprehend the essence of God?
(8) Whether the created intellect seeing the essence of God, knows all
things in it?
(9) Whether what is there known is known by any similitudes?
(10) Whether the created intellect knows at once what it sees in God?
(11) Whether in the state of this life any man can see the essence of
God?
(12) Whether by natural reason we can know God in this life?
(13) Whether there is in this life any knowledge of God through grace
above the knowledge of natural reason?

Comments

Post a Comment

Yes

Popular posts from this blog

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1-5

Image
Last time we began to look at the opening of Genesis chapter 1. We learned that the elements which I believe came from nothing (ex nihilo), were the building blocks for the Lords big project of creation. These building blocks of matter are mentioned in many myths and legends from Egypt to Babylon. However, the Genesis account is a complete contrast to all of these other myths. Moses wrote in such a way that his account is completely different. A lot of scholars following Julius Wellhausen put the ideas from the Babylonia and near vicinities.  commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2006-01-14_Surface_waves.jpg  (I like the above picture as a representation for chaos.  Although in the primeval period there was no light though. :)) I completely disagree. Israel ended up in a captivity twice. Once as a family and then as a nation; Egypt and Babylon. Genesis was written in the first phase and looks back to when Abraham was even in Egypt. At this early juncture according to the text a lot of the
Read more

When God began creating...

Image
  When we look at our own life, our beginnings can influence what our end can also be. We all ask questions of where we have come from and where we are going.   Although these can be scientific questions, they can also be existential, moral, and spiritual questions. I found Rabbi Sacks really important on my understanding of Genesis one and two.   Some of the reflections I came to were heavily influenced by his thinking.   In Genesis one and two we can already see God’s love for his creation.   The way rabbi Sacks brought this out in his Covenant and conversation from my point of view is fantastic.   I really enjoyed reading it because it is not dry such as the higher criticism of J, E , and P… and taking the razor to the text that ought not to have ever have been done.  Taken from wikipedia I am also aware of the ancients who also attempted to interpret Genesis allegorically, philosophically, scientifically. These ways I just mentioned are ways that Josephus talked about. All these wa
Read more

Tertullian and Heresy

Tertullian Tertullian the North African of Berber origin continued on with the tradition. In fact, he taught Cyprian who then gave rise to the great St Augustine another North African theologian. Taken from; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertullian “Tertullian (/tərˈtʌliən/; Latin: Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; c. 155 – c. 240? AD)[1] was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa.[2] Of Berber origin,[3][4][5][6][7] he was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He was an early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy, including contemporary Christian Gnosticism.[8] Tertullian has been called "the father of Latin Christianity"[9][10] and "the founder of Western theology."[11] Though conservative in his worldview, Tertullian originated new theological concepts and advanced the development of early Church doctrine. He is perhaps most famous for
Read more