Summarize Thomas Aquinas’s argument on the existence of God from the Summa Theologica, and explain why you do or do not find it persuasive
Please provide the best answer for the statement.
1. Most theologians understood that there was a seeming conflict between faith and reason, but, they argued, as both proceeded from God, this conflict must, by definition, be a misapprehension. Scholasticism sought to reconcile the two.
2. In Summa Theologica, Aquinas takes on virtually every theological issue of the age, from the place of women in society and the Church, to the cause of evil, the question of free choice, and whether it is lawful to sell a thing for more than it is worth.
Aquinas also takes on the largest issue of all—the summa of summas—attempting to prove the existence of God based on observation and logically drawn conclusions. According to 3. Aquinas, one can prove there is a God by observation of five phenomena: 1) change;
2) causation; 3) necessity; 4) the existence of relative vs. absolute values; and 5) order or “guidedness” in nature.
4. Students’ explanations of whether they find Aquinas’s arguments persuasive will necessarily vary.
You might also like to view...
During most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which of the following religions was dominant among India's leaders?
a. Christianity b. Hinduism c. Islam d. Buddhism
What object did the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius relate to the perfect geometry of a circle and square?
A. Castle arches B. Male human form C. Constellations D. Church domes E. City plazas
How did Brahms's first symphony compare to the works of Beethoven? What did the critics of the day have to say about his work?
What will be an ideal response?
When Angels in America opened at the Eureka Theatre, the entrance of the Angel was heightened by the use of spectacular special effects which lifted the actress 30 feet above the stage.
Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)