Thomas Aquinas and Man's Soul

[Exporter]

This site contains a part of The Aquianian Summa Theologica. (A small part).
newadvent.org/summa/109004.htm

The question is:

1. Was the soul created?
2. When was the first man’s soul produced?
3. Is the soul part of the Devine Substance??
4. What is the nature of a human soul?
   

 

[adnauseum]

St. Thomas might answer as follows:

The human soul is not part of the divine substance.

We are wholly separate in being from God. It is God who brought us into finite being from nothing. And our finite being depends completely on Him. But we do not share God’s being.

 

[Michael_s_Sword]

Exporter:

This site contains a part of The Aquianian Summa Theologica. (A small part).
newadvent.org/summa/109004.htm

You can find the entire Summa here:

intratext.com/X/ENG0023.htm

 

[RobedWithLight]

Exporter:

This site contains a part of The Aquianian Summa Theologica. (A small part).
newadvent.org/summa/109004.htm

The question is:

1. Was the soul created?
2. When was the first man’s soul produced?
3. Is the soul part of the Devine Substance??
4. What is the nature of a human soul?
   

Of course, the soul was created. If it wasn’t created, then it would be an eternal, like God, which cannot be since God alone is uncreated. The human soul was created by God as soon as the body is created, and is of a rational nature. As the article cited says:

For it is clear that God made the first things in their perfect natural state, as their species required. Now the soul, as a part of human nature, has its natural perfection only as united to the body. Therefore it would have been unfitting for the soul to be created without the body.

Aquinas says that God creates not “spare parts” or disassembled components, but a complete being [a living human being] upon the moment of creation. Since the soul cannot be perfect without a body, hence when it is created, it is created along with a body.

Gerry