St. Thomas Aquinas Essay Example for Free

St. Thomas Aquinas Essay The Five Ways of the Summa Theologica was written by St. Thomas Aquinas. In this writing Aquinas argues against two objections of the existence of a God and provides five arguments in which he believes to solidify the idea that God does exist, further disproving these objections. Aquinas’s first argument for the existence of God is that of motion. To Aquinas, everything is in motion and motion must start from somewhere. He explains that nothing can be moved without something previously causing that movement and thus proves that God is real because God is the initial mover. This argument, however, does not prove the existence of God. If we were to think that this argument proves anything it would be that we do not know the initial mover nor do we know what actually causes these motions. God in this sense is used as an answer to a question that we do not really know the answer to. Aquinas’s second argument for the existence of God is based on cause and effect. Aquinas’s argument is that there is no effect without a cause; God being the cause and the universe being the effect. He also believes that this is not an infinite possibility and that there must be a start and an end and without the middle there will be no beginning or end. Again, he offers an argument that in no way proves the existence of God. Aquinas appears to be filling in the lack of answers with the existence of God and not rebutting the holes that his argument leaves open. When I turn on the light switch in my room, I am essentially the first mover and I am the creator of that light. Does this make me God because I wield the power of light at my fingertips or are there better explanations of how the light came to be? Aquinas’s third argument is simply that nothing can exist from nothing; therefore, there had to be something in existence to create this world and that was God. This argument is based on the pure assumption that nothing comes from nothing and that something can cause something. For one to assume such a thing would be completely absurd because this lacks any evidence. Similarly, Aquinas’s argument assumes a creator and fails to give adequate proof of this creator’s existence. The fourth argument that Aquinas presents is that of gradation. He states that all things have a minimum and a maximum or the worst and the best and uses the example of fire—fire is the maximum of heat. He further concludes that all beings are caused by something and that there must be a greatest of that being of which it was created by and that being is God. â€Å"Therefore there must be something which is to all beings the cause of their being, goodness, and every other perfection. † This argument explains why there can be evil in the world because God is the most good of us all and we are lesser than God. What this argument fails to describe is the idea of what is greater than God. Would there not be a more powerful, more good, more perfect being in which created God? The fifth and final argument that Aquinas presents is that all beings are on a path and lack the knowledge of that path. Thus all beings are guided by a greater being with more knowledge who directs them. Regardless if God were to exist or not, all beings are bound to die. Is that the path that God is directing us toward? There are plenty of people in the world who do not believe in the existence of God and they are not immortal, their lives still come to an end. To a non believer or skeptic living a life without guidance or acceptance of God will die just as that of a believer in God. So if God were to show us the way to the end, how can the two parties reach the same ending, one with guidance and one without? While Aquinas does make some very good points on why one should or does believe in the existence of God, he in no why proves anything of the sort. His assertions are all based on the presumption that there is a God and that he is the answer to all things without solid proof.

Comparing William Bennetts Leave Marriage Alone and Andrew Sullivans

What is marriage? For thousands years, marriage has been a combination between a man and a woman. When they love each other, they decide to live together. That is marriage. But what will love happen between two same sex persons? Will they marry? Is their marriage acceptable? It is the argument between two authors: William J. Bennett and Andrew Sullivan. The two authors come from different countries and have different opinion about same sex marriage. Sullivan agrees with the gay marriage because of human right, on the other hand, Bennett contradicts his idea because he believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Even though their theories are totally different, their opinions are very well established. In Bennett’s essay, he does not want to support gay-marriage so he provides evidences as to why it is a bad idea. In his opinion, marriage is a connection of a husband and a wife. On the other hand, gay marriage is a damage of this society because he doesn’t think same sex marriage is actually a marriage. First of all, he believes â€Å"same sex marriages would do significant, long term social damage† (Bennett 177). At this point, I don’t agree with him because in my opinion, gay people do not harm the society except decreasing population in a passive action but it is not the main deterioration to be long term or significant. As everyone knows, beside gay marriage, abortion is also the hot issue of the world especially with the religion today. Why do they have to get rid of their â€Å"blood†? When they love each other so much, they get married or have sex before marriage (it’s very normal with teenager today), and then when the love is bro ken, they decide to abort or in other word, they want to kill their ba... ...riendship, or the love to your friends. After reading two different essays, I think why we have to struggle with those things we don’t have to. Why don’t we just let it go and love will answer everything? In conclusion, same sex marriage is not a problem; the problem is how we can live together with it. I’m a Christian so basically, I don’t support gay marriage but when I think about human right, I feel it is not a dangerous problem for us. If they love each other, let them marry and they will solve that problem by themselves. Who knows after gay law is passed, no one want to marry with same sex person any more. So just let it is solve by itself. Sources Cited William Bennett, Leave Marriage Alone Andrew Sullivan, Let Gays Marry An Exchange on Same-Sex Marriage - William Bennett and Andrew Sullivan http://faculty.mc3.edu/barmstro/sullivan.html

Empire On The Development Of British Essay

In 1715, Great Britain ended the War of the Spanish Succession as an emergent imperial power, with a new base at Gibraltar and her naval victory at Malaga. Over the next century, she became as a true world power. Her emergence as an intellectual and scientific power helped stimulate the growth of her empire, and in the empire in turn fostered the blossoming of the scientific and intellectual life in Britain. , England’s quest for colonies came late. In 1600, she had no permanent settlements outside of Europe. 1 In the seventeenth century, however, this had changed dramatically, with the settlement of the colonies in North America, of sugar plantations in the Caribbean, and the beginnings of a large scale slave trade between West Africa and the New World. 2 In these colonial enterprises, the English proved themselves more efficient in supplying the necessities than did their rivals, and were thus largely able to exclude other countries from trade with these colonies. 3 Further, almost from the outset, the English were interested in preserving the territories they seized. Very early on they showed a remarkably sophisticated and highly practical understanding of potential environmental problems involved with settlement and cultivation. Well before other settlers, the British learned to protect forests to prevent drastic erosion. Learning this, they fostered ways to work with the tropical environment rather than against it. 4 The colonies in the Caribbean, with their sugar and tropical produce, and Newfoundland, with its vast quantities of fish, were especially profitable. 5 On the other hand, by the mid-sixteenth century, exploration of the Pacific had all but stopped. The sheer size of the ocean and the difficulties of navigating it intimidated mariners. The few voyages that were made into the Pacific were often largely buccaneering ventures, which brought back wild accounts of these tales for the reading public in England. 6 While English diplomats trying to keep peace sometimes paid lip service to Spain’s claim of the entire Pacific Ocean,7 the course of advancement would not be stayed. An important reason for the influence that the expansion of the empire had on the intellectual climate in England was the influence that the intellectual climate in England had on the expansion of the British empire. In terms of timing, the English came late to the business of exploration. When they turned their energies to exploration, they were already absorbed in the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. The English translated the Bible into English and quickly followed this with the production of other major works such as Homer into English. They also began producing their own works, including William Turner’s Herball of 1651. In a remarkable flowering of her intellectual prowess, the English produced many of the finest minds of the age, Isaac Newton, William Herschel, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, David Hume, Adam Smith, Joseph Priestley, and Robert Boyle to name only a few of these luminaries. A great deal of the English learning was driven by pragmatic considerations. Navigation required expertise in astronomy and cartography. As the colonists settled property, they needed competent surveyors, a need that Raleigh recognized, dispatching a mathematician to help map the new world. Knowledge of new rocks, plants, and animals was essential to determine what could be exploited. 8 Coming out of this intellectual ferment, British attitudes about colonies and exploration were very different from those of earlier explorers, notably the Spanish. The English did less to proselytize to the natives they found,9 but early on made science a part of their efforts. They did not find the gold that drove Pizarro; Spain produced no match for James Cook or Joseph Banks. 10 The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge was a key to intellectual ferment and exploration. Chartered 1662, Royal Society won praise as the finest intellectual body in Europe. British exploration and settlement often involved scientific efforts. Discoveries, ranging from observations of native peoples to a growing interest in exotic plants and animals fed the intellectual climate, which in turn injected new energy into exploratory efforts. 11 By contrast, Spain had the Inquisition, proud that fewer works were published in Spain in the eighteenth century than had been published in the sixteenth. An oppressive censorship meant that in every field of intellect except orthodox theology, Spain lagged behind the rest of Europe.

How do You know Essay - 957 Words

I walk down the school hallway or the streets, and see couples holding hands or giving each other kisses on the cheek. A sickened look captures my face as I walk by and hear those three words, â€Å"I Love you†. Then it dawns on me, do they really love each other? Do they understand what they are saying? If it isn’t love what do they have? Many people question the difference between love and lust, and if they are able to have both. In my opinion, it is possible that love can turn into a passionate relationship and the sexual tension between two partners can eventually turn into love. However, there is no guarantee that one will generate the other. Lust means to have an intense desire or sexual need towards someone. It is just a mere†¦show more content†¦It is proven in this literary work that when having that sexual tension between another person, and getting passed what drew you near them in the first place, the two beings can eventually fall in love. On the other hand, there are being that are able to fall in love and confide in each other without being sexually attracted. This type of union is considered very genuine and unadulterated. In William Shakespeare’s, Sonnet 116, love is characterized in its most ideal form. The sonnet is congratulating lovers who have come to each other freely. The first four lines identifies the Shakespeare’s admiration for how love is stable and â€Å"wil l not alter when alterations finds† (Shakespeare 345). In the fifth line, he speaks about love being a guiding star to lost ships (wandering barks). The love theme of this sonnet expresses love in a positive way. When love comes first there is some other force that attracts them, which is not the desire of intercourse. In â€Å"Plato: The Perfect Union†, it is revealed that people long to find that person to become whole with. For example, â€Å"To Plato lovers are incomplete halves of single puzzle, searching for each other in order to become whole.† (Ackerman 877). It describes soul mates as being the true definition of romantic love. Specifically it says to â€Å"Bridle sexual urges† and â€Å"set higher goals†. Implicating that romantic love does not need flourish with just sex alone. â€Å"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love† was about a man whoShow MoreRelatedDo You Know How You Survive? Essay2141 Words   |  9 PagesDo you know h ow to survive? Have you ever thought what the world would be like if there was no technology guiding us? Wonder a world would be like if not everyone had cars? Ever Wonder a world where any race besides white got beaten for saying anything? Imagine a world where not everyone had resources accessible to them for survival, technology to keep alive, or even awareness of certain diseases and ways to cure them. 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