BROADCASTS.com

St Thomas Aquinas, in the first part of his Summa Theologica, after having enumerated five proofs for the existence of God, proceeds to outline and explicate his attributes, of which Thomas says He has eight:

1) Simplicity, 2) perfection, 3) goodness, 4) infinity, 5) ubiquity, 6) immutability, 7) eternity, and 8) unity.

This is the order in which he deals with them and I thought I would provide a quick summary of each in the same order for those that are interested.

To read what Thomas himself says, start here in the Summa.

\xa0
1. THE SIMPLICITY OF GOD.
The Simplicity of God means that God has no parts, that He is not composed in any way. He is not, as we are, the composition of body and soul, nor is He the composition of essence and existence. One of Thomas\u2019 arguments for why God is not a composition of body and soul is the following: 1. Bodies, by necessity, move. 2. God is the unmoved mover. 3. Therefore God does not have a body (this may be the quickest refutation of Mormonism ever!). Nor is God a composition of essence (what a thing is) and existence (that a thing is). Rather, in God, essence and existence are the same thing. We see Biblical evidence of this in the book of Exodus where God responds to Moses\u2019 request for a name, \u201cI am who I am\u201d (3:14). If essence and existence were not the same in God, if what he was was not the same thing as that he was, then there would exist outside of God the reason for his existence, which is absurd.

\xa0
2. THE PERFECTION OF GOD
\xa0

The perfection of God means that God lacks nothing. He is the the fullness of being. As St. Thomas says, \u201cto be the first principle for others it is necessary to be maximally in act, and as such the most perfect being.\u201d The more a being is like God, the more perfect it is. The fact that we can even say that one being is more perfect than another implies a most perfect being, and this, of course, is the crux of Thomas\u2019 fourth\xa0proof for the existence of God.

\xa0
3. THE GOODNESS OF GOD
God, who is the greatest conceivable being, is also goodness itself, since being and goodness are really convertible. A being, in so far as it is like God, is good, and a being, in so far as it is unlike God, is not. Given that all creation is ordered to this good, one might reasonably ask, \u201cIf all creation is ordered toward the supreme good, who is God, to what good may we say that God is ordered? To none other than the supreme good who is himself. The only appropriate finality for an infinite being is infinite being.\u201d

\xa0
4. THE INFINITY OF GOD
The infinity of God refers to the fact that God is in no way limited. He is Subsistent being itself. \u201cGod is,\u201d in the words of D.Q. McInerny, \u201cwithout limits because He is Himself the inexhaustible source of all the riches of being.\xa0

\xa0
5. THE UBIQUITY OF GOD
The ubiquity of God means that God is everywhere. Not that God has a body and is \u201cin\u201d each and every place\u2014God is not inside of my glass of milk in the sense that he has extension in space. Rather, what we mean when we say God is everywhere\u2014including my glass of milk\u2014is this: \u201cwherever something is operating, there it is.\u201d Since God is operating everywhere, he is everywhere. The sentiment \u201cGod is closer to you than you are to yourself,\u201d is not just a feel-good sentiment, it\u2019s true.

\xa0
6. THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD
The sixth attribute put forward by Aquinas is His immutability, that is, his unchangeableness. If a thing changes it changes for better or for worse. If God was mutable, therefore, his changing would make him better or worse. If it made him better then he wasn\u2019t perfect to begin with. If it made him worse, then he isn\u2019t perfect now.

\xa0
7. THE ETERNITY OF GOD
The philosopher Boethius, in The Consolation of Philosophy defines eternity thusly: \u201cEternity is the everlasting, totally simultaneous and perfect possession of life.\u201d And this is the definition St. Thomas adopts when speaking of God\u2019s eternity. God is eternal because he immutable. \u201cIf we are right in describing time as the measure of motion,\u201d writes, McInerny, \u201cwe are equally right in describing eternity as the measure of permanence.\u201d

\xa0
8. THE UNITY OF GOD
Unity, like goodness, and beauty, is a transcendental of being. It is because God is being that he issimple that he is perfect unity. St. Thomas writes, \u201cthat which is simple, is undivided both with respect to act and potency.\u201d And since it is not possible to divide God in any way (matter/form; essence/existence, etc.), then it follows that God is perfect in unity.

---

Quotes from D. Q McInerny were taken from his book, Natural Theology (2005).\xa0

---

SPONSORS

EL Investments: https://www.elinvestments.net/pints

Exodus 90: https://exodus90.com/mattfradd/\xa0

Hallow: http://hallow.app/mattfradd\xa0

STRIVE: https://www.strive21.com/\xa0

GIVING

Patreon:\xa0https://www.patreon.com/mattfradd

This show (and all the plans we have in store) wouldn't be possible without you. I can't thank those of you who support me enough. Seriously!

Thanks for essentially being a co-producer coproducer of the show.

LINKS

Website: https://pintswithaquinas.com/

Merch:\xa0https://teespring.com/stores/matt-fradd

FREE 21 Day Detox From Porn Course:\xa0https://www.strive21.com/

SOCIAL

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattfradd

Instagram:\xa0https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd

MY BOOKS\xa0

Does God Exist:\xa0https://www.amazon.com/Does-God-Exist-Socratic-Dialogue-ebook/dp/B081ZGYJW3/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=fradd&qid=1586377974&sr=8-9

Marian Consecration With Aquinas:\xa0https://www.amazon.com/Marian-Consecration-Aquinas-Growing-Closer-ebook/dp/B083XRQMTF/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=fradd&qid=1586379026&sr=8-4

The Porn Myth:\xa0https://www.ignatius.com/The-Porn-Myth-P1985.aspx

CONTACT

Book me to speak:\xa0https://www.mattfradd.com/speakerrequestform