St. Thomas Aquinas - Summa Theologica

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Hi everyone,

Just downloaded above mentioned subject to my e-book for $.99

Who’s read it ? It looks very extensive. I have just started reading the 10 articles. Like to hear thoughts about this work from those who have read it?

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
 
What, read the whole thing? That’s a huge project! I have read and studied sizable portions of it. It’s difficult at first but gets easier as you gain familiarity with his thought. Of course, coming from one of the most influential thinkers of the Church, it is well worth the effort. At 99 cents, I hope you have a good translation.

I recommend the journal “The Thomist” published by the Dominican fathers, if you are interested in the theology of St. Thomas and in what people are doing with it today.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. Not sure I will ever finish it as I work fulltime, married, and raising kids. Actually, I may die before I ever get it finished but I could be doing worse things with my time so I will forge ahead and see how much I can get read over the years ahead. I wondered if any people on this forum had finished it and was also looking for suggestions on the “must read” sections, etc… to help narrow the focus.

My background is not in theology or philosophy…I understand some science…My main interest is to understand why many people always mention St. Thomas Aquinas on this forum and go on to say you should read this work to better understand how to defend our Catholic faith. I guess I am just curious.
 
user "MTKM":
was also looking for suggestions on the “must read” sections…
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Although it is difficult to understand anything fully w/o understanding the context, yet I would still recommend jumping right into the 2nd Part and the 2nd Part of the Second Part which is all about human happiness and morality. I recommend it because I always thought that Aquinas gave a very unique and insightful look into the virtues and the human mind. Aquinas’s essays on metaphysics are just icing on the cake IMO.

A word of caution though, one should realize that Aquinas seems to believe that a thing (like love or thoughts or rocks) is multifaceted and that it takes nuance to understand it. Sometimes one even has to affirm that a thing is both good and bad but it different ways. So if you have any confusion when reading Aquinas just remember that he is very nuanced and loves making logical and fine distinctions.
 
MTKM said:
Thanks for the feedback so far. Not sure I will ever finish it as I work fulltime, married, and raising kids. Actually, I may die before I ever get it finished but I could be doing worse things with my time so I will forge ahead and see how much I can get read over the years ahead. I wondered if any people on this forum had finished it and was also looking for suggestions on the “must read” sections, etc… to help narrow the focus.

My background is not in theology or philosophy…I understand some science…My main interest is to understand why many people always mention St. Thomas Aquinas on this forum and go on to say you should read this work to better understand how to defend our Catholic faith. I guess I am just curious.
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With this said, you’re going to have to understand basic Aristotlelian metaphysics before diving into the Summa if you want to know what St. Aquinas was trying to convey. The strictest Thomists will even only read the Summa in Latin, as the Latin has a more precise and direct meaning of language, especially with philosophy.

A good book to pick up that is great at preparing the modern person for St. Aquinas is Edward Feser’s book on Aquinas. Starts out explaining the basic metaphysics and moves into correct interpretation of St. Aquinas and even has dedicated chapter to the five ways. A must read.
 
Jumping right into the Angelic Doctor? Good for you!

I’d second Trever Stamm’s recommendation to read Edward Feser’s recent book on Aquinas for the background in Aristotle’s metaphysics which Aquinas assumes his reader has. Mortimer Adler’s Aristotle for Everybody would also give the background.

Peter Kreeft’s summa of the summa is also very good. His is the "readers digest’ version of the Summa with copious footnotes and a glossary of terms. Recommended.
 
I read the Shorter Summa many years ago, but, regrettably, gave it away to a friend in hopes of converting her from atheism (it worked, but I don’t have the book anymore :/).

I agree with Alan that Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa is a good start.

~Alberti Devoveo
 
The Summa Theologica is one of my absolute favorite books of all time. The prose is elegant and concise. While I don’t agree with some of his conclusions, the writing is almost unearthly in its beauty. Don’t be put off by the length of the book. It is well worth the read. The suggestions to bone up on Aristotelian philosophy is a requirement before reading, imhh. This assumes you know little of it. Thomas references Aristotle as ‘The Philosopher’.

I have always been intrigued that so much of the Catholic Church Doctrine uses a non-believer, The Philosopher, for logical support.
 
Greetings to those posting and or reading this thread,

I also recommend A Tour of the Summa by Msgr. Paul J. Glenn. To me that’s one of the best books that give a broad overview of the Summa.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
 
Thank you all for your advice, encouragement, and support. I will let you know how I get along with this personal goal of mine.

God Bless you all!
 
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