The Medieval Nun - St. Thomas Aquinas Made Simple

The Medieval Nun

St. Thomas Aquinas Made Simple

The Medieval Nun
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Round, The Second

Mediator: Welcome to the second round of this debate. This round will focus on the nature of God. There
will be two questions.

I put before you the first question: Is God the same as his essence?

Popular Party: Firstly, God is not the same as his nature because nothing is in itself. Men may love, but
they are not love itself; they are not the source of love.

Secondly, a man is not the same as his humanity, therefore God cannot be the same as his godhead.

Aquinas: God is His own essence. “I am the way, the truth, and the light.” So he is clearly the originator of
all things.

So, firstly, only things which are corporeal, which have physical form, cannot contain their own essence.
Indeed, man may love, but he cannot be love itself. But this is because he’s man. But God has no form, so
He has no limitations; it is possible for Him to the be originator of things such as love and truth.

Secondly, man’s life and existence come from God, but God generates His own existence, therefore he must
be His own essence; his godhead must originate from Himself alone.

Question One Complete.

Question Two.

Mediator: I put before you the question: is God simple?

Popular Party: No, god is not simple. Firstly, God originates all things, and all things imitate God. As the
universe is not simple, God must not be simple either.

Secondly, whatever is best in life must be attributed to God. And it is generally understood that complexity is
best. So chemical compounds are better than the simple elements that compose them. Therefore God must
be complex, because that is a better state.

Aquinas: But St. Augustine wrote that “God is truly and absolutely simple.” And I think that God is simple
because He has no body, no parts, no composition. As established in the previous question, He is his own
essence as well. You cannot say that this thing and that thing put together make up God; He is like an element
which cannot be further disassembled. He was not caused by anything else.

Firstly, while God’s creations imitate Him, they are made complex by the fact that they are also removed from
Him. They are not their own essence, which makes them complex.

And, secondly, I would hold that complexity is not necessarily better. Anything which is complex is
composed of more simple parts. Remove any one of those simple parts and the complex thing will cease to
function. For instance, you cannot take the heart out of a man; he will die. When something, such as a man,
must rely on many parts to keep him functional, there are many chances that one of those simple parts might
cease to function and cause the whole body to collapse. When something relies only on itself, such as God,
there is no chance of failure.

Question Two complete. End of Round Two.