Part of my formation for the priesthood requires that I study the work of St. Thomas Aquinas. So this past month I was enrolled in a class about the life and thought of Thomas Aquinas. I have had classes on Aquinas before but there is always something new that I can take home with me from this great thinker.
No other person in the history of the Church(with the exception of Jesus and evangelists of course) has done more to help us understand more about the way we think about God. Borrowing from the thinking of Aristotle, Aquinas believe that we can come to know God through our reason. Aquinas would famously give his five proofs for God existence later in his Summa. God is not one being in a universe full of other beings but God is being himself. In other words all creation points to its source which is God. Thomas will compile massive amount of writings about philosophy, theology, and yes even science. Aquinas was a brilliant man and the church owes a great debt to him.
However, as much as I like Thomas Aquinas I would not call myself a Thomist. Thomas is a brilliant thinker but at times his thinking can be a little dry just because it is so objective. Again Aquinas is brilliant and his thinking has shaped how I see the world in many ways but I look to other thinkers to get a subjective side of faith that begins with the self and then to God. This should not be a knock in Thomas' thinking but instead I see Aquinas as the most solid foundation a person can have in religious thinking. I believe a foundation in Aquinas will allow for a more fruitful experience with other great religious thinkers. Again this is just my humble opinion as I know many other people who feel all we need is Aquinas! There also those who feel that Thomas is no longer important and don't feel a need to study him. I disagree with these two extremes.
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