Podcast Episode Details

The Angelic Doctor: Faith, Reason, and the Legacy of St. Thomas Aquinas

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Episode 1061

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In this episode, we dive into the life and mind of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Italian Dominican friar described as the "greatest of the medieval philosopher-theologians". Join us as we trace his journey from a young nobleman imprisoned by his family to prevent his religious vocation, to his studies under Albertus Magnus, who famously predicted that this "dumb ox" would one day produce a "bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world".

We explore Aquinas's monumental effort to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity, examining his assertion that faith and reason are distinct but complementary tools for understanding God.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The Masterworks: A look at his definitive texts, the Summa Theologiae and the Summa contra Gentiles.
• The Five Ways: Aquinas’s logical arguments for the existence of God, including the concepts of the "First Mover" and the "First Cause".
• Natural Law and Ethics: Understanding his views on the four cardinal virtues, the "just war" theory, and how human reason participates in eternal law.
• The Mystical End: The profound spiritual experience that led Aquinas to stop writing, declaring that all he had composed seemed like "straw" compared to what he had seen.

Tune in to understand why this "Doctor of the Church" remains a central figure in Western philosophy and theology centuries after his death.

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Published on 1 week, 1 day ago