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St. Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274) was a [[Dominican]] friar who wrote a range of philosophical, theological and polemical works. These included the [[Summa Theologica]], the Summa Contra Gentiles, various commentaries on Aristotle, commentaries on various books of the New Testament, a summary of the four Gospels known as the Catena Aurea, as well as various formal debates known as Quaestiones Disputatae or Quaestiones Quodlibetales. There are some other Opuscula or short works on various topics such as his defence of the Mendicant friars ''de Perfectione'', and his philosophical text on Being and essence ''de Ente et Essentia

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was a [[Dominican]] monk who wrote [[Summa Theologica]].  Many consider this to be the most perfect and complete summary of Christian theology, and he established an entire type of Christian philosophy known as "Thomism", which is followed to this day. Aquinas was somewhat controversial during his life, but was quickly revered by the [[Catholic Church]] after his death. Many of the controversies surrounding Aquinas stem from his synthesis of Aristotlean philosophy with Christian philosophy, causing him to break with many of the traditionally held philosophical and theological positions espoused by the dominant Augustinian synthesis of Neoplatonic philosophy and Christianity.  He developed five proofs for the existence of [[God]] using logic.  The first three were "cosmological" proofs rather than the "ontological" approach of [[St. Anselm]]. A cosmological proof deals with the natural order of the universe.  Aquinas' most famous cosmological argument was that whatever is in motion (for example, us) must have been put in motion by something else (our parents).  They, in turn, must have been put in motion by something else (their parents).  But this sequence cannot go on to infinity.  There must have been a first mover.  This we call "[[God]]".

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Many consider the ''Summa Theologiae''  to be one of the most complete summaries of Christian theology, and his followers established an entire type of Christian thought known as "Thomism", which is followed to this day.  Aquinas was somewhat controversial during his life, but was quickly canonised by the [[Catholic Church]] after his death. Many of the controversies surrounding Aquinas stem from his synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology, causing him to break with many of the traditionally held philosophical and theological positions espoused by the dominant Augustinian synthesis of Neoplatonic philosophy and Christianity.  He developed five proofs for the existence of [[God]]. The first three were "cosmological" proofs rather than the "ontological" approach of [[St. Anselm]].  A cosmological proof deals with the natural order of the universe.  Aquinas' most famous cosmological argument was that whatever is in motion (for example, us) must have been put in motion by something else (our parents).  They, in turn, must have been put in motion by something else (their parents).  But this sequence cannot go on to infinity.  There must have been a first mover.  This we call "[[God]]".

St. Thomas Aquinas' views on the nature of man included an incomplete interpretation of the Fall of Man.  He believed that while men had rebelled against [[God]] and the human will was fallen, the human intellect remained perfect.  Therefore, human wisdom could be relied upon and given as much prominence as the teachings of the [[Bible]].  This idea justified mixing the works of the classical, secular philosophers into Christian theology.  Also as a result, the authority of the Church became as important, if not more so, than that of the [[Bible]].  These ideas set the stage for humanism, which was the predominant philosophy of the [[Renaissance]].  

St. Thomas Aquinas' maintained that the truth is one and can never contradict itself. Thus even though the human intellect is hampered by original sin and is darkened by personal sins, it can still acquire knowledge of the world, of nature and by reasoning from effect to cause, of God. Thus the existence of God can be known (cf Summa Theologiae Ia pars, Q2; de Potentia Dei, passim) by unaided reason, as can the fundamental principles of Moral Conduct (often called the Natural Law, cf Summa Theologiae, IaIIae partis, Q94). However, knowledge of the Triune nature of God - as revealed to us by Jesus Christ - cannot be known except by divine revelation. This occurred throughout the Old Testament and was completed by the God's definitive self-revelation in Christ Jesus.

Concerning the nature of God, Aquinas found that the best approach, commonly called the via negativa, is to consider what God is not. This led him to propose five positive statements about the divine qualities:

Concerning the nature of God, Aquinas used the ''triplex via'' or threefold way. Thus he would begin by stating that God is good, which is after all self-evident and is logically implied by the meaning of the word 'God' itself. He then denies that same statement, on the grounds that any human reference to good cannot, in principle, do justice to divine goodness. Human and Divine goodnesses are so different in kind and degree as to be incommensurable; thus a human word like 'good' is effectively false when applied to God.

*1. God is simple, without composition of parts, such as body and soul, or matter and form.

*2. God is perfect, lacking nothing. That is, God is distinguished from other beings on account of God's complete actuality.

*3. God is infinite. That is, God is not finite in the ways that created beings are physically, intellectually, and emotionally limited. This infinity is to be distinguished from infinity of size and infinity of number.

*4. God is immutable, incapable of change on the levels of God's essence and character.

*5. God is one, without diversification within God's self. The unity of God is such that God's essence is the same as God's existence. In Aquinas's words, "in itself the proposition 'God exists' is necessarily true, for in it subject and predicate are the same."

However Aquinas suggests that as we have no choice but to think and talk in human terms about God and His nature, we must use human language to do so. Thus we use human words like 'good', 'merciful' 'infinite' and so forth about God, while being constantly aware of their insufficiency;  we use them not because they are the best words to use but because they are the least inadequate terms we have.

 

St. Thomas Aquinas is further known for his famous observation that the [[Devil]] cannot withstand mockery.  Mockery can be useful in defeating a bad idea, temptation or people in this world who really annoy you.