How Did Thomas Aquinas Support Religion

Thesis Statement: Origin of Morality Outline A.Universal Ethics 1.Karl Barth, The Command of God 2.Thomas Aquinas, The Natural Law 3.Thomas Hobbes, Natural Law and Natural Right 4.Immanuel Kant, The Categorical Imperative B.Morality and Practical Reason 1.Practical Reason a.Practical Reason and Practical Reasons C.Evolution of Morality 1.What makes Moral Creatures Moral 2.Explaining the Nature of Moral Judgments F. Answering Questions 1. What is the origin of Morality: Religion or Philosophy? 2. What does religion say about morality? 3.

They accept natural cause as a viable explanation for how the universe came to its present state. They want to be accepted as men of science, yet desire to be viewed as Christians. They believe in some type of god. Despite claims to the contrary, their belief conflicts with the Bible and its teaching about God as creator. The term “theistic evolution” is an

Bunyan draws heavily from both Luther and Calvin 's ideas, and their influence is palpable in The Pilgrim 's Progress. One of the hallmarks of Reformation theology is that it articulates a system of justification by faith alone, as opposed to justification by good works, as the Catholic Church once encouraged. For Luther, faith in God and the gift of God 's freely given grace erased the sins of humanity, rather than good works or indulgences issued by the Church. Though Calvin is famous for his very strongly articulated doctrine of predestination, which states that God has already decided who will be saved and who will be damned, Luther 's theology can also be considered to be predestinarian, albeit more generous than Calvin 's definition. The question of election aside, both maintained that humanity 1had wholly fallen, and redemption was only possible through faith and God 's grace, which was made manifest in the Crucifixion, and continues to be bestowed on sinners.

Plato's belief was that “moral virtues are universal and absolute, not relative (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein, Smith 2010).” he believed that it was the way people are whether they were good or bad, and that nothing can be changed about it. Plato was the first man to believe that the person's spirit is different from the body itself. According to David Davidson “Platonism is part of the vital structure of Christian theology (Davidson)." Which helped influence Christianity since Plato believed that there was a perfect world for people, which is what the Christian believed to be heaven. Plato was not Christian but Platonism did help people understand Christianity a bit better.

As a general principle: Scripture is always sufficiently clear to make us aware of our present responsibility to God. Its less clear portions will never lead us into sin. The greatest teaching of all is the illumination of the Holy Spirit. This means that each individual Christian can understand the teachings of Scripture. We do not need expert teachers to help us to understand.

While Luther understood faith as the means of justification, he also understood the ground of justification to be nothing more than the grace and mercy of God shown to sinners because of the perfect life and work of Christ. He said it this

The quote explains that, “At its core is the belief that God is the source of moral truth and communicates his will to humanity via commands. Our choice is to go our own way or to follow. If right and wrong comes from God, nothing else matters. Opposing views of friends, parents, public opinion or experts in any field take a back seat. When we are confident that God said it and we are committed to God, that settles it.” (Wilkens, S, 1995, pp.

What makes one be a good person? Natural Law is a concept that dates back to the Greco-Roman philosophers. The agreement by these philosophers was “that process in nature by which human beings, through the use of sound reason, were able to perceive what was morally right and wrong” (Schmidt 253). Cervantes’ Don Quixote struggles with this until the point of “madness”. In my opinion, Fielding’s Tom Jones human nature and morality, although seen as “unacceptable” at times relates to forgiveness in Christianity.

Humankind—Image of God and Original Sin In The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace, Kenneth J. Collins, makes another important contribution to the area of Wesley Studies. Collins seeks to organize his discussion of Wesley’s theology around the “axial theme” of “holiness and grace” (6). The organization of the book is logical and easy to follow, essentially guiding the reader through the Way of Salvation or more accurately (according to Collins’ view) the order of salvation. A major strength of The Theology of John Wesley is Collins’ discussion of prevenient grace. Collins ends his summary of total depravity by arguing that “for those such as Wesley who followed the Augustinian tradition, the effects of the fall are so devastating that response-ability along the way of salvation is not a possibility at all unless God first of all sovereignly restores humanity through prevenient grace to some measure of the relation previously enjoyed” (73).

Scripture is self-attesting, due to the fact that God is sovereign. His words have been declared in Scripture. Therefore; since it is Spirit led then one can truthfully say that Scripture is written, inspired, and approved by God. The entire Word of God gives multiple verses of Scripture that show God’s commandments and words, thereby, showing the evidence within its pages the truth of scripture. Self-attesting renders God’s Word an absolute truth.

My answers to the first two questions would not change, since my belief in God as the Creator and Sustainer of life is a foundational viewpoint for me. Do you believe in absolute truth? Is there more than one way/religion to understanding absolute truth about God and the meaning of life? Since God is the Creator, the idea of absolute truth about God and His holding the meaning of life is a comfort to me. In Scripture, Jesus states, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.