Book - BookDetective

Name: Summa Theologica

Author: Thomas Aquinas
Year: 1274
Rank:

Rating:

Original Rating:

Pop Rating:

Genres/categories:
Classic, Philosophy, Religion, Non Fiction, History

Purchase/reserch links:

ISBNs:
9781732190320
1732190321

The Summa Theologiæ (Latin: Compendium of Theology or Theological Compendium; also subsequently called the Summa Theologica or simply the Summa, written 1265-1274) is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274), and although unfinished, "one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature." It is intended as a manual for beginners in theology and a compendium of all of the main theological teachings of the Church. It presents the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God; Creation, Man; Man's purpose; Christ; the Sacraments; and back to God.
It is famous, among other things, for its five arguments for the existence of God, the Quinque viae (Latin: five ways).
Throughout the work, Aquinas cites Sacred Scripture, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, and other Jewish, Greek, Roman, Christian, and Muslim scholars. The Summa Theologiæ is a more structured and expanded version of Aquinas's earlier Summa contra Gentiles, each written for different purposes: the Summa Theologiæ to explain the Christian faith to theology students, and the Summa contra Gentiles to explain it and defend it in hostile situations, with arguments adapted to the intended circumstances of its use, each article refuting a certain belief of a specific heresy.