Thomas Aquinas

Okay so Thomas Aquinas was an medieval writer and you could say philosopher. And during this time, philosophers were starting to become very popular. And so was trying to prove the existence, or the lack of existence of God.

Aquinas wrote something called Summa Theologica in which he used five proofs to try and prove the existence of God, or a supreme being. His proofs really made me look at the idea of God in a different way.

1. The first point is based on the existence of motion. In order for something to be in motion, it must first be set in motion. "Whatever is moved is moved by another; for nothing can be moved except it is in potentiality to that towards which it is moved." So in other words, anything that has to be moved must be moved by something else. In order for something to put something else in motion, it must first be set into motion itself. But if you were to go to the very first thing that was set into motion, what set that into motion? "It is necessary to arrive at a first mover, moved by no other; and this everyone understands to be God."

2. The second is the order of efficient causes. According to Aristotle, the efficient cause is the primary source of change or rest. There's never been a case where something has been it's own efficient cause. It would literally be impossible. Aquinas explains that there is an order to efficient causes. First is the cause of the intermediate cause , and the intermediate is the cause of the ultimate cause. There can be several or only one intermediate cause. If you were to take away the cause of something, then you would also be taking away the effect. So that means that if you were to take away the first cause then there couldn't be an ultimate cause. However, if you were able to go to infinity, there would be no efficient cause, and there would be no ultimate effect or any intermediate efficient causes. And that is all false. So that makes it "necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name God".


I'll continue more later. It's a lot to take in but completely amazing at the same time. It makes me appreciate God in a whole new way.