Revisiting Aquinas’ Proofs for the Existence of God
Revisiting Aquinas’ Proofs for the Existence of God

Author: Robert Arp

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-02-02

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 9004311580

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Edited and introduced by Robert Arp, Revisiting Aquinas’ Proofs for the Existence of God is a collection of new papers written by scholars focusing on the famous Five Proofs or Ways (Quinque Viae) for the existence of God put forward by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) near the beginning of his unfinished tome, Summa Theologica. It is not an exaggeration to say that not only is Aquinas’ Summa a landmark text in the history of Western philosophy and Christianity, but also that the Five Proofs discussed therein—namely, the arguments that conclude to the Unmoved Mover, Uncaused Cause, Necessary Being, Superlative Being, and Intelligent Director—are as compelling today as they were in the 13th Century. Written in a debate format with different scholars arguing for and against each Proof, the papers in the book consist of arguments utilizing various combinations of contemporary science and philosophical ideas to bolster the positions. The result is a revisiting of Aquinas’ Proofs that is relevant, stimulating, enlightening, and refreshing.

Faith, Reason and the Existence of God
Faith, Reason and the Existence of God

Author: Denys Turner

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004-09-16

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9780521602563

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The proposition that the existence of God is demonstrable by rational argument is doubted by nearly all philosophical opinion today and is thought by most Christian theologians to be incompatible with Christian faith. This book argues that, on the contrary, there are reasons of faith why in principle the existence of God should be thought rationally demonstrable and that it is worthwhile revisiting the theology of Thomas Aquinas to see why this is so. The book further suggests that philosophical objections to proofs of God's existence rely upon an attenuated and impoverished conception of reason which theologians of all monotheistic traditions might wish to reject. Denys Turner proposes that on a broader and deeper conception of it, human rationality is open to the 'sacramental shape' of creation as such and in its exercise of rational proof of God it in some way participates in that sacramentality of all things.

The One Creator God in Thomas Aquinas and Contemporary Theology
The One Creator God in Thomas Aquinas and Contemporary Theology

Author: Michael J. Dodds, OP

Publisher: Catholic University of America Press

Published: 2020-08-21

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0813232872

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This book provides a fundamental introduction to Aquinas's theology of the One Creator God. Aimed at making that thought accessible to contemporary audiences, it gives a basic explanation of his theology while showing its compatibility with contemporary science and its relevance to current theological issues. Opening with a brief account of Aquinas’s life, it then describes the purpose and nature of the Summa Theologica and gives a short review of current varieties of Thomism. Without neglecting other works, it then focuses primarily on the discussion of the One God in the first part of the Summa Theologica. God's transcendence and immanence is a recurrent theme in that discussion. Evidence of God's immanent causality in the natural world grounds Aquinas's five arguments for the existence of God (the Five Ways) which then open onto God's transcendence. The subsequent discussion of the divine attributes builds on the modes of God's causality established in the Five Ways. It also shows the need for a language of analogy to preserve God's transcendence and prevent us from reducing God to the level of creatures, even as qualities such as "goodness" and "love," which we first know from creatures, are applied to God. The discussion of God's providence and governance establishes that the transcendent Creator God is most intimately present in creation. God acts in all creatures in a way that does not diminish their proper causality, but is rather its source. As there is no contradiction between God's transcendence and immanence, so there is no competition between the primary causality of God and the secondary causality of creatures. Empirical science, which is limited by its method to the secondary causality of creatures, is shown to be compatible with the broader discipline of theology which also embraces the primary causality of the Creator.

Collected Articles on the Existence of God
Collected Articles on the Existence of God

Author: Gaven Kerr

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2022-10-15

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 3868382712

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The twentieth century witnessed an explosion of scholarly interest in the philosophical thought of St Thomas Aquinas. One of the fruits of that Thomistic revival was an uncovering of St Thomas’s original contributions to many areas of philosophy, not least metaphysics. In the twenty first century, there has been renewed interest in Aquinas’s argumentation for the existence of God. This interest flows from an engagement with the work of the twentieth century scholars in presenting Aquinas’s own characteristic metaphysics. What we have seen is an interpretation and presentation of Aquinas’s proofs for God’s existence in terms of Thomas’s unique insights into the nature of being and the metaphysical structure of reality. Gaven Kerr has been one such author who has contributed in numerous ways to the revival of interest in Aquinas’s argumentation for the existence of God and its metaphysical buttressing. Over the last ten years Kerr has published articles on Aquinas’s various proofs for God’s existence and the metaphysics standing behind those proofs; this volume draws together those articles. Herein are included Kerr’s articles on per se ordered series, existential inertia, the proof in De Ente et Essentia, the argument from motion in the Summa Contra Gentiles, and the five ways themselves. Kerr has also written two new articles for this volume: one on the possibility of demonstrating God’s existence, and the other on how to move from God’s existence to God’s nature. This volume offers an overview of Kerr’s thinking over the last decade on Aquinas’s thought on the existence of God.

Does God Exist?
Does God Exist?

Author: W. David Beck

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2021-03-09

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0830853014

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Does God exist? In one incisive volume, philosopher W. David Beck offers a narrative of pre-Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, and Islamic arguments for God's existence. In this history of answers to an essential question, readers will encounter both classical and contemporary arguments, including cosmological, teleological, moral, and ontological arguments.

The Five Ways
The Five Ways

Author: Anthony Kenny

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13: 9780415318457

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First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Quietism, Agnosticism and Mysticism
Quietism, Agnosticism and Mysticism

Author: Krishna Mani Pathak

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-01-01

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9811632235

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This book presents a unique collection of papers on various philosophical aspects of the unknown and unvoiced truth and reality of the cosmic world. It offers a systematic analysis of the three philosophical theories of Quietism, Agnosticism and Mysticism and introduces readers to the fundamentals of mystical knowledge claimed by philosophical schools of the east and the west. It discusses, debates and deliberates on philosophical issues concerning the acquisition of truth, its objectivity and its various dimensions along with the application of thoughts pertaining to Quietism, Agnosticism, and metaphysical-mystic traditions in philosophy. It examines and precisely defines the scope and limits of knowledge, the respective way of life, its expressions and morality, mystical revelation, ineffability of the ultimate, value realism, and faith and reason - with a primary focus on the classical Indian schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Agnosticism, the Bāuls, Greek traditions, modern western meta-philosophy, and contemporary quietist debate in religion and theology. This insightful collection should be of great interest to independent researchers, students and teachers of philosophy, theology, Mysticism and Agnosticism, cultural studies and religious studies.

Matter and Mathematics
Matter and Mathematics

Author: Andrew Younan

Publisher: CUA Press

Published: 2022-11-08

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0813236126

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"What is "A Law of Nature"? It's a question that's vexed philosophers and scientists ever since Descartes first coined the term. Fr. Andrew Younan explores it in this insightful book. After carefully reviewing the positions of Humeans and Anti-Humeans, he employs the philosophy of Aristotle and Aquinas to argue for an essentialist understanding. His study leads him back to the beginnings of modern science and then forward to quantum mechanics. The philosophical account of how the laws of nature arise from observed regularities in the world is followed by a theological discussion of the nature and action of the Lawgiver."--from the foreword by Michael J. Dodds, OP To borrow a phrase from Galileo: What does it mean that the story of the creation is "written in the language of mathematics?" This book is an attempt to understand the natural world, its consistency, and the ontology of what we call laws of nature, with a special focus on their mathematical expression. It does this by arguing in favor of the Essentialist interpretation over that of the Humean and Anti-Humean accounts. It re-examines and critiques Descartes' notion of laws of nature following from God's activity in the world as mover of extended bodies, as well as Hume's arguments against causality and induction. It then presents an Aristotelian-Thomistic account of laws of nature based on mathematical abstraction, necessity, and teleology, finally offering a definition for laws of nature within this framework.

The Writer and the Cross
The Writer and the Cross

Author: Darren J.N. Middleton

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2022-06-27

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1476646791

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Spiritually engaged readers commonly look toward fiction to better understand the depth of a faithful life, and Christians are no exception. Many followers of Jesus value beautifully written, deftly characterized and pulse-quickening literary art that seems more satisfying than dry, tedious doctrinal textbooks. This book surveys 12 pieces of historical fiction that feature notable Christian thinkers. They include an illustrated children's book about St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a novel about Martin Luther's Reformation, a screenplay focusing on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and even a story about Pope Francis narrated in popular manga style. Rather than arcane literary analyses, this book provides thoughtful and sometimes painful interviews with the authors of the covered works. Most interviewees are little known or emerging writers. Some have published their work with a church or denominational press, others with a major publishing empire or popular print-on-demand platforms. Storytellers reflect on their literary choices and the contexts of their writing, sharing what modern Christians can learn from historical religious fiction.