Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this dude named Bishop Thomas, right? This guy is a big deal in the church, apparently. I started digging into his stuff because, well, why not? I figured it’d be some dusty old religious texts, but it turned out to be way more interesting.
First, I started with his basic info. Turns out, Thomas was a priest back in the 13th century. Born into some noble family, he got his early education at a famous abbey. Fancy, huh? This was just the beginning, though.
Then I got into his actual writings. I thought, “Here we go, boring theology stuff.” But nope! The guy was deep into combining Christian teachings with Aristotle’s philosophy. This was a big deal because the church ended up adopting it as their official philosophy in 1917. And it wasn’t just the church—even secular philosophy got influenced by his ideas. That’s some serious impact!
I started with what seemed like the easiest reads. Someone recommended a list, so I picked up “Aquinas’s Shorter…” something. It was a good starting point. But man, there are tons of books about him. I found this other one called “Reading the Sermons of Thomas Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide,” which was pretty helpful in understanding his way of thinking. But I don’t recommend it because it was a little bit hard for me.
- He wrote this massive thing called “Summa Theologica.” It’s unfinished, but still huge. It starts with talking about God’s existence and nature. I skimmed through it, and it was pretty intense.
- He also wrote something called “Disputed Questions on Truth” and “Summa contra Gentiles.” I haven’t gotten to those yet, but they’re on my list.
- He did commentaries on Christian Scripture and Aristotle’s works. I took a peek at those, and they’re just as dense as his other stuff.
I also found this essay online that talked about how important Thomas is for catechists today. It was all about his views on teaching, which I thought was cool. I mean, the guy was all about how faith unites the soul to God.
There’s also this guide I found, “A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding St. Thomas Aquinas’s Teaching about the Actual Composition of Essence and Esse in Created Beings.” That title alone made my head spin, so I skipped it for now. I also found this other thing about his teachings on virtues and living a moral life, aimed at Catholic women. It looked important, so I bookmarked it for later.
Finally, I realized that this guy wasn’t just about religious stuff. He also wrote about politics, like in “On Kingship.” Who knew a 13th-century priest would have thoughts on political theory? But to be honest, I haven’t finished it yet.
So yeah, that’s my journey into the world of Bishop Thomas so far. It’s been a wild ride, from thinking it would be boring religious stuff to realizing how influential this guy was. And I’m still just scratching the surface! It’s crazy how much one person can impact so many different fields. I’ll keep digging, though. There’s a lot more to learn, and honestly, it’s way more interesting than I expected.
