Thomas Aquinas: A Very Short Introduction

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This book lived up to its promise - it was a brief read that introduced the reader to St. Thomas Aquinas, his thinking and his influence on history.

I have been part of a group reading our way through the Summa Theologiae for approximately twenty years. We meet twice a month to read aloud and discuss each question in the Summa. After all this time, we are at the tale end of Part II of Book II, about ready to take on the virtue of temperance.

This book has answered something that has puzzled me over the years. The true theological part of the Summa was over fairly quickly in Book I. Both parts have involved a fascinating and helpful discussion of how man forms judgments, and is affected by passions, and can develop the habits of virtues, or fall into their corresponding vices. This is so incredibly practical that I'm constantly amazed by how modern psychology isn't more Thomistic.

But I have to wonder, where is the theology in this?

This book gave me the answer, namely, according to the author, the Summa has a trinitarian structure. The first part is about God, the third part is about the man who was the incarnation of God, and the second part is about how those of us who are formed in the image of God can move toward God.

That is obviously the answer, but it took a helicopter survey to show me the map when I had been chopping my way through the trees every week.

The author's discussion of Aquinas' life and legacy is good. The discussion of the contents of the Summa is cursory, but useful. Anything longer would defeat the purpose of this book as a “very short introduction.”