In ScG, II.56–72, St. Thomas embarks upon a consideration of intellectual substances which are united to bodies, later considering those which are not thus united (angels, see ScG, II.91ff). In these chapters, then, we will follow St. Thomas in staking out the middle ground between a materialist account of the human person (ruled out by … Continue reading The Unity of the Human Person
This discussion covers ScG, II.39–45. In this part of the work, St. Thomas considers the distinction of things. Given circumstances, our comments here will be brief: some notes about the context and purpose of these chapters overall; consideration of a particular theme in these chapters: the universe; concluding remarks for student discussion (with some appendices). … Continue reading The Cosmos as Total Object of Creation
We discuss what must happen when God creates; what must He do, and for how long? This will lead us to the famous medieval debate over the eternity of the world. So, we will: present an overview of ScG, II.28–38; consider the way in which justice and necessity are found in creation (II.28–30); sketch the … Continue reading The Possibility of An Eternal World
We are now ready to embark upon our study of ScG, Book II. We begin with ScG, II.6–27. Since this is “in the middle” of things in the Contra Gentiles itself, and at the beginning of our of course, our work is somewhat complicated. We will discuss what Book II assumes from Book I, and … Continue reading God’s Power and Creative Act
John G. Brungardt 