Reports, notes, and reflections on teaching and learning
We continue our study of Summa contra Gentiles, Book III. The plan is as follows: discuss the lay of the land, an outline of topics; the divine likeness in the cosmos; cosmology and intellectual movers and designers; some concluding thoughts and questions. 10.1. The Approach to the Ultimate Good Below is how Summa contra Gentiles, … Continue reading The Heavens and the Glory of God
In our consideration of St. Thomas Aquinas’s other Summa, we are now ready to begin Book III. The plan is as follows: discuss the lay of the land, an outline of topics; consider the opening chapter; discuss the beginning of St. Thomas’s consideration of the end; some preparatory thoughts on good and evil; discuss the … Continue reading The Human Heart, Not Beyond Good or Evil
We continue our exploration of the Summa contra Gentiles, in this post ending Book II. St. Thomas’s tour of creation—at least as far as intellectual substances go—is nearly complete. The stage is nearly set for the drama of the history of the universe. The plan is as follows: an overview of the reading, ScG, II.91–101; … Continue reading The Universe is a Communion of Persons
What Awaits Us Beyond Death? For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in the last day I shall rise out of the earth. And I shall be clothed again with my skin, and in my flesh I will see my God. Whom I myself shall see, and my eyes shall behold, and not another: this … Continue reading Beyond Human Death
We continue our discussion of St. Thomas’s exploration of the beginning and end of human life, and focus upon when a human person comes into existence. Our question: When does a human person come into existence? Our answer: At the moment of conception. 7.5. Parameters and Limits of the Discussion This discussion is, in a … Continue reading The Beginning of Human Life
This series of posts is nearing the “midterm” point of the course on Summa contra Gentiles, Books II–III. Here is a collection of posts thus far: The Polyvalent Hierarchy of Wisdoms (ScG, I.1–8, II.1–5, et al.) God’s Power and Creative Act (ScG, II.6–27) The Possibility of An Eternal World (ScG, II.28–38) The Cosmos as Total … Continue reading Human Beginnings and Endings
The following is excerpted with slight adaptations from my essay “Ancilla Domini et Ancilla Theologiae: Mary and Philosophy,” a translator’s essay in Fr. Hugon’s Mary, Full of Grace (235–78; here 235–46). It proposes that Mary is, as it were, the imagination of God in which the Word first comes to be Incarnately; she is like … Continue reading The Incarnation and Mary
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
John G. Brungardt 