Thomas Aquinas — Season 1, Episode 3: The Attributes of God
Documentary, Talk • 55 min • 1 season, 8 episodes
Episode synopsis
In lecture three, Robert Barron explores Thomas Aquinas’s understanding of God’s attributes beyond his famous Five Ways. Through the via negativa (negative way) and via positiva (positive way), Aquinas develops a vision of divine simplicity in which God’s essence and existence are one, making God not simply a being among beings but “ipsum esse subsistens” (the subsistent act of being itself). The discussion concludes by examining God's perfection, goodness, immutability, eternity, and knowledge, demonstrating how these attributes flow from the principle of divine simplicity and reveal God as the ultimate ground of being who draws all creation back to himself.
About Thomas Aquinas
In Thomas Aquinas, a seven-hour course, Bishop Robert Barron guides us through a study of the theological and philosophical system of Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century Dominican friar who masterfully synthesized Ancient Greek philosophy with Christian doctrine. We examine his Five Ways for demonstrating God's existence, his understanding of divine attributes and the Trinity, and his teachings on creation, providence, and the problem of evil. The course delves into Aquinas's philosophical anthropology, particularly the relationship between body and soul and humanity's creation in God's image. We conclude by studying his ethical framework centered on finding happiness in God as humanity's ultimate goal, and the role of virtues in ordering human life toward God.