Into Theology The Gospel Coalition Canada

In this episode, we take a break from our reading of Thomas Aquinas's Summa and instead discuss Thomas Aquinas with Ryan Hurd. We discuss Thomas Aquinas's view of the doctrine of God and talk through some of his basic approaches to theology. If you have been reading Thomas with us, this episode will help you appreciate his intellectual context better to help you read and understand his works. If you want to learn from Ryan, consider registering for his class at the Davenant Hall (online): https://davenanthall.com/product/compendium-of-theology-readings-in-thomas-aquinas/

After affirming God's existence since God himself says he exists (Exod 3:14), Thomas shares five ways that show God's existence. In the context of the Summa, Thomas here aims to establish the existence of his object of study, which in this case is God. Here he follows a standard procedure in pre-modern scientific study to first establish the existence of a subject before characterizing how it exists or its essence. Drs. Ian Clary and Wyatt Graham discussed the First Way in some detail in their last episode as well.

In this episode, Drs. Ian Clary and Wyatt Graham discussion Thomas's second question in the Summa. In Thomas's age, asking whether something exists was the first part of someone's study. Thomas obviously believes God does exist. In an almost comical line, Thomas answers the question "Whether God Exists" by saying "yes" because God says he does in Exodus 3:14, "I am who I am!" If God says it, then he must exist. Now, the Bible also says some people mentally believe God does not exist (Ps 53:1). So, while God does exist and it is self-evident, we can reason from God's created effects back to the existence of God, which Thomas believes we should and can do because Paul tells us to do so in Romans 1:20. Drs. Clary and Graham also discuss the first of the five ways of God's existence. They push back against the notion that God is somehow immobile since he is the first mover. That, they show, is not what Thomas has in mind.

In this episode, Ian Clary and Wyatt Graham continue discussing Thomas Aquinas's view of Holy Scripture. They discuss his view of the four senses of Scripture: literal, allegorical, tropological, and anagogical. Thomas makes a (perhaps surprisingly) clear argument for the importance of the literal sense, and a way of grasping the spiritual sense of Scripture that neither negates nor destroys the literal sense.

In this episode, Drs. Ian Clary and Wyatt Graham discuss how Thomas Aquinas is a teacher of common sense. As well, they discuss how Thomas Aquinas held to the authority and inspiration of Scripture for sacred doctrine.

In this episode, Ian Clary and Wyatt Graham introduce Thomas Aquinas in preparation for reading Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae.