The Works of Thomas Aquinas

  Lesson 55

   Thomas Aquinas was born the son of a count in Italy in 1225. When Thomas was five years old, he began his education. Thomas was sent off to a university in Naples when he was old enough. While studying, Thomas was influenced by Aristotle's writings and also by a new order of monks called the Dominicans.

    At the age of 19, Thomas joined the Dominican monks, much to the dismay of his parents. In fact, his parents actually kidnapped their son to keep him away from the monks. After two years of captivity, Thomas “escaped” from his parents and rejoined the monks.

    After some time with the monks, Thomas decided to rewrite the Christian theology in a systematic way, using Aristotelian logic and thinking. Aquinas's greatest work was the Summa Theologica. However, Thomas left the manuscript unfinished, believing that he was called to a greater service than what he was currently working on.

    Thomas Aquinas became a priest and ordained in 1250. While he was teaching at a school in Paris, Thomas completed his Doctorate in Theology. Most of Thomas's time was spent in prayer, study, and writing during these years.

    Some time later, Thomas Aquinas was summoned by the Pope to attend a council. As Thomas was on his way, a falling branch hit him and he became ill shortly after. He was cared for by his friends, but several days later Thomas died.

Influence of Thomas Aquinas

    Thomas Aquinas's work greatly influenced the church by using Aristotle's logic to study scripture. Aquinas also argued that man can logically prove there is a god, based solely on the evidence in nature. He taught new connection between science and theology. Over time, philosophers began promoting the idea that logic and man's senses could tell him what he needed. This was a distortion of Aquinas's ideas. This focus on man's thinking continued into the time of the Renaissance.