St Thomas Aquinas Research Paper

Saint Thomas Aquinas studied at the University of Paris in 1252 to work towards earning his theology degree. 1 Thomas obtained his license to teach theology at the university in 1256. 2 He started on his masterpiece in 1265 called Summa Theologica.3 He didn’t complete it because he died on March 7, 1274 but in its two million words; the Summa Theologica contains more than five hundred questions, twenty-six hundred articles, and ten thousand objections and replies.4 In this work, he carefully reasoned both sides of every issue seen in the Christian doctrine. 5 Part one’s subject is God regarding the presence and nature of God, angels, creation, the nature of man, and government. Part two’s subject is man and covers the reason for man, laws, immoralities and virtues, habits and many more. Part three subject is Christ regarding the incarnation, services, and the rebirth. One question he focuses on in Summa Theologica is what is the cause of virtue? Virtue is defined as a unity of words and deeds. In
According to Thomas, habituation is defined as to be used to something by repeating. In other words, it eventually becomes a habit. Thomas concludes by saying “nothing other than a certain habitual conformity of either of these powers to reason.” 10 However, in Romans 14:23 is says “He who hesitates, and eats none the less, is self-condemned; he acts in bad conscience, and wherever there is bad conscience, there is sin.”11 So there is no virtue that can be in us by habituation because people cannot escape sin but by the grace of God says Aquinas. 12 There is no good without the Sovereign Good which is God. Neither can any virtues be caused in us by habituation, but only by the gift of God.13 We do something out of habit not because God wants us to but it is like second nature to us. Lastly, actions lack the perfection of virtue. 14 An act is something we do or have done and can’t be considered a virtue if not done