"Sacred Doctrine"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the world is the creation of God and is centered, for Aquinas, on God; all human endeavors should ultimately be directed towards knowledge of God and the divine mystery of human salvation. The author points out that Aquinas argues that human beings are made human by their intellect, and, that they have the ability and duty to use their intellect to apprehend the divine. This paper stresses that reason does not operate independently, but within a framework of what Aquinas calls "natural law," the relationship between the natural law of humankind, and the eternal law of the divine.

From the Paper:

"God is at the heart of Aquinas' world-view and philosophy, and the role of human reason as well as faith once more comes to the fore in the process by which human beings accept the existence of God (for Aquinas is clear that the existence of God is not self-evident). The essence of God is unknown to us, so must be "demonstrated by things that are more known to us, namely, by effects" [Pt. I, Q. 2, Art. 1]. To reach conclusions on the existence of God by studying the world around us will, Aquinas argues, lead inevitably to a knowledge of God, for the world cannot be explained without recourse to God. Thus once again human reason is in harmony with revelation and faith in bringing human beings to a fuller knowledge of the Godhead and of salvation."

More papers on "Sacred Doctrine":

• Comparison Essay # 14403 : "The Quran and The Bible"
• Analytical Essay # 143398 : "Genetic Research And Cloning - A Christian Perspective"
• Essay # 44735 : "The Religion of the 3000."

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: