The Summa Contra Gentiles (Illustrated)
The first of these is proved by the Philosopher in three ways. First, thus. If a thing moves itself, it must needs have the principle of its movement in itself, else it would clearly be moved by another. Again it must be moved primarily, that is, it must be moved by reason of itself and not by reason of its part, as an animal is moved by the moveme
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And if this again passes from potentiality to actuality, it must be preceded by something else, whereby it can be brought from potentiality to actuality. But we cannot go on thus to infinity. Therefore we must come to something that is wholly actual and nowise potential. And this we call God.
Saint Thomas Aquinas • The Summa Contra Gentiles (Illustrated)
Therefore God is both potential (none being) and actual (being) ... The very process of becoming from nothing into something cannot repeat itself into infinity, so we have to come to the conclusion that the principle behind it is thing that transcends non-being and being. He is nothing and everything at the same time - or NO thing. God is the very reason for why nothing becomes something, He is the one inbetween.
The first way is as follows. Whatever is in motion is moved by another: and it is clear to the sense that something, the sun for instance, is in motion. Therefore it is set in motion by something else moving it. Now that which moves it is itself either moved or not. If it be not moved, then the point is proved that we must needs postulate an immova
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The question is what makes everything move? Why is everything, even atoms in constant motion? What is the cause, the principle behind motion? What makes things move itself primarily without the reliance of "other" separated or individual parts. How can it move itself without moving? God, an immovable mover.
And the divine intellect surpasses the angelic intellect much more than the angelic surpasses the human. For the divine intellect by its capacity equals the divine essence, wherefore God perfectly understands of Himself what He is, and He knows all things that can be understood about Him: whereas the angel knows not what God is by his natural knowl
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Even angels or spirits cant even comprehend God as such either huh?
Only things which are moved are measured by time: because time is the measure of movement, as stated in 4 Phys. Now God is absolutely without movement, as we have already proved. Therefore we cannot mark before and after in Him. Therefore in Him there is not being after non-being, nor can He have non-being after being, nor is it possible to find an
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Never moving, all permeating. Eternal, ever-lasting.
Therefore if one of its parts is at rest, it follows that the whole is at rest. For if, while one part is at rest, another of its parts were in motion, the whole itself would not be moved primarily, but its part which is in motion while another is at rest. Now nothing that is at rest while another is at rest, is moved by itself: for that which is a
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the human intellect is incapable by its natural power of attaining to the comprehension of His essence: since our intellect’s knowledge, according to the mode of the present life, originates from the senses: so that things which are not objects of sense cannot be comprehended by the human intellect, except in so far as knowledge of them is gathered
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U cannot comprehend the structure when you are within it.
Nothing is at the same time in act and in potentiality in respect of the same thing. Now whatever is in motion, as such, is in potentiality, because motion is the act of that which is in potentiality, as such. Whereas whatever moves, as such, is in act, for nothing acts except in so far as it is in act. Therefore nothing is both mover and moved in
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Because the force of the argument lies in this, that if a thing moves itself primarily and of itself, not by reason of its parts, it follows that its being moved does not depend on some thing; whereas with a divisible thing, being moved, like being, depends on its parts, so that it cannot move itself primarily and of itself. Therefore the truth of
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