Book contents
- Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on the One God
- Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on the One God
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Analytical Table of Contents
- Ante Studium (Before Study)
- Epigraph
- Commentator’s Introduction
- Question 1 The Nature and Extent of Sacred Doctrine
- Question 2 The Existence of God
- Question 3 Of the Simplicity of God
- Question 4 The Perfection of God
- Question 6 The Goodness of God
- Question 49 The Cause of Evil
- Question 7 The Infinity of God
- Question 8 The Existence of God in Things
- Question 9 The Immutability of God
- Question 10 The Eternity of God
- Question 11 The Unity of God
- Question 12 How God Is Known by Us
- Question 13 The “Names” or Qualities Predicated of God
- Question 14 Of God’s Knowledge
- Question 16 Of Truth
- Question 18 The Life of God
- Question 19 The Will of God
- Question 20 God’s Love
- Question 21 The Justice and Mercy of God
- Question 22 The Providence of God
- Question 25 The Power of God
- Question 26 Of the Divine Beatitude
- Commentator’s Conclusion: Preamble to What?
- Index of Scriptural References
- General Index
Question 18 - The Life of God
Article 3: Whether Life Is Properly Attributed to God?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2024
- Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on the One God
- Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on the One God
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Analytical Table of Contents
- Ante Studium (Before Study)
- Epigraph
- Commentator’s Introduction
- Question 1 The Nature and Extent of Sacred Doctrine
- Question 2 The Existence of God
- Question 3 Of the Simplicity of God
- Question 4 The Perfection of God
- Question 6 The Goodness of God
- Question 49 The Cause of Evil
- Question 7 The Infinity of God
- Question 8 The Existence of God in Things
- Question 9 The Immutability of God
- Question 10 The Eternity of God
- Question 11 The Unity of God
- Question 12 How God Is Known by Us
- Question 13 The “Names” or Qualities Predicated of God
- Question 14 Of God’s Knowledge
- Question 16 Of Truth
- Question 18 The Life of God
- Question 19 The Will of God
- Question 20 God’s Love
- Question 21 The Justice and Mercy of God
- Question 22 The Providence of God
- Question 25 The Power of God
- Question 26 Of the Divine Beatitude
- Commentator’s Conclusion: Preamble to What?
- Index of Scriptural References
- General Index
Summary
Life science students are taught that living are distinguished from nonliving things by the functions they perform, such as nutrition, excretion, and adaptation to the environment. Such lists of function are not drawn up with a view to life in general, but only with a view to biological life. It would be foolish to say that God is not alive because He does not excrete. In order to find out whether the Tradition is correct in attributing life to God, we need a better criterion of what it is to be alive, and it must be generally applicable, not crafted just to produce the conclusion that He is. St. Thomas has such a criterion, and puts it to work.
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- Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on the One God , pp. 251 - 272Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024