Research Paper On St Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas Many historical figures have impacted the creation and development of Christianity. St. Thomas Aquinas is among the most important of these people. He shared new ideas about philosophy and theology, and wrote influential works that changed how the Catholic Church operated. He set a precedent that has lasted nearly a millenium. St. Thomas Aquinas was born in Italy during the thirteenth century. Since he was the youngest son in his family, he was expected to pursue a career as an abbot, like his uncle did. This was a custom followed by many Christian families. Even at a young age St. Thomas was thought of as an inquisitive child who asked a lot of questions. Some believed that it was his strong interest and curiosity that

Thomas knew his family would not approve of this decision, but he joined anyway, The Dominicans had him transferred to Rome, and later to Paris, so his mother would not be able to interfere with his work. His brothers captured him when he was traveling to Paris and brought him back to their mother. In an effort to make him choose a different path for his life, Thomas was locked up by his family in the castle. His brothers sent a prostitute to Thomas, and she tried to seduce him and change his mind about what he believed. However, Thomas sent the girl away. His mother realized that she could not dissuade her son from joining the Dominicans. She allowed Thomas to escape through a window during the middle of the night so it would not seem as though she was letting him run away. This started him on the path to impact the future of the Church’s

Thomas began his greatest endeavor, writing the Summa Theologica. He strayed from this work, leaving it unfinished, and started writing commentaries on many of Aristotle’s writings. Thomas thought Aristotle’s ideas were important enough to elaborate upon and clarify. As a philosopher, Thomas was “emphatically Aristotelian” (McInerny). The Saint adopted many of his ideas from Aristotle and natural philosophy, as seen in Summa Theologica where the theologian names the philosopher almost two hundred times (Aquinas). Summa Theologica is divided into three main parts: the existence and nature of God, man, and Christ. Theses topics are further divided into more subtopics. St. Thomas shared his belief that religion and reason could coexist. In his writing, St. Thomas proved God’s revelation is not contrary to reason. Thomas’s Summa Theologica inspired many Church decrees. Thomas remains one of the most influential theologians of Christianity and one of the most significant philosophers. His works are unmatched by any other theologian, and are still consulted when the Church makes a decision about the teachings of