SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS’ OF THE SIMPLICITY OF GOD

1/27/2024

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Whether God is a Body?

It is impossible that God is a body because He is the One who is unmoved and the very Force that puts all bodies in motion. All bodies must be set forth in motion by the unmoved, which simply Is, and does not require anything beyond Himself to be put in motion, for there exists no such thing that can move the Unmoved, to which we refer to as God. All things that are, apart from the Unmoved, which is God, must come from the Force which puts them into being. An apple does not come before the tree, and a cake does not come before the baker. The tree and the baker put the apple and cake into motion and being, just as God puts the apple tree and baker of the cake into being so the apple and the cake may exist. God is the maximum of nobility from which lesser noble bodies are put into existence from Him. A body alone without a soul is a corpse, decaying and returning to the earth. A living body with a soul is a composite and is known as an animated body, which is the opposite of an inanimate body that is void of the soul. A human being made in the likeness and image of God is special in the sense that our reasoning, intelligence, and longing of our souls to seek Him in truth are superior as compared to animals. By way of the world, we can either draw closer to Him by rejecting the trends of modern-day life, which is everything that is opposed to God, or we can pull further away from Him by our actions in succumbing to the temptations, desires, noise, and confusions of the world. It is important to differentiate between being of the world and participating in the world while not being part of it for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Whether God is Composed of Matter and Form?

God is not composed of matter and form because these are attributes found in a body. It is proven that God is not a body and cannot be measured or contemplated in fullness by way of the corporeal sense alone. Since mankind is corporeal, that is consisting of matter and form, which is a body, and must be moved by the original Unmoved Mover who puts all things into existence, it would be impossible that God is composed of such elements because He is the Creator of such elements and does not need them to Be for the sake of His own existence because He alone was before them. By way of perfection, God is the true source of all perfection, to which the created owes tribute to their Creator, who is also the maximum of what is perfect. Matter and form are also associated with agency by which the agent pursues a cause within its material bodied form. God is the original cause, the One who puts all Causes into being, who is of His own essence formed within Himself, thus it is impossible that God be composed of matter and form, which is corporeal, for God is incorporeal and is the One who calls the corporeal into being. Thus, it is impossible that God would be composed of matter and form, for He alone is everywhere and can be found in all things put into existence because all things in existence came from Him. Things that come forth from a source do not equate to it becoming the source itself, rather, they become a representation of the source in the form of matter and composition. Corporeal worship of matter manifests itself into desire and pleasure. Pursuit of these properties alone, void of God, will lead to sin (death). The body is made of both soul and body, spirit, and matter. In the days of faithlessness and boastfulness, the children of the dark have become filled with demonic pride. We see that matter and form has become the unspoken rule. You need a job to be respected. You need money to be taken seriously. You need substantial achievements to be recognized as worthy of honor. You need sculpted physiques to be attractive and worthy of a partner. Although these examples come with the past and can co-exist with a soul in great rapport with God, it has occurred that the true nature of mankind’s composite state of body and soul is being rejected for the corporeal sense, which is lesser, and often dominating all things in life of the composite. In other words, the Moderni Man has replaced his true nature with a false one that is temporary and void of the spirit that was given to him for his benefit by the One Most High.

Whether God is the Same as His Essence or Nature?

Something can be defined as a thing which represents it, but not describing it in fullness. For example, a machine that is functional, that is, to complete a specific task effectively to the specifications it was designed to complete, can be described in this manner in the sense that it carries out its function to be recognized by someone who observes it. In the same way, humanity may be of a human, but it is not the only part that makes up a human. The flesh, the blood, the eyes, and even the ligaments are also part of that human, but alone is not the fullness of the human. The effects of something are a representation of that person or thing, such as a woman singing a song. The song being sung is not the woman, but is a mere representation of her, especially if she wrote it herself. In the same way, since God is His own essence and nature, the effects of Him in the world consisting of matter and form may represent Him to a degree, but never in its fullness, because as stated earlier, God does not consist of matter and form, but is truly in Himself. Thus, God is the same as His essence and nature, for it is also written, “The Lord is One.” Knowing that the Lord is fully active in the world to varying degrees, some greater than another, and others being a better representation of Him, we see that in Babylonia, society in general terms within itself is having trouble depicting Him more accurately. Through misinformation, lies, faithlessness, and even the supposed faithful using Him to sell merchandise and extract sorted gain for themselves as for the purpose of ministry and false worship, we see that the effects of God as represented by supposed believers who claim to know Him represent Him to a lesser degree. A church without an altar that is void of the Body of Christ (his presence) as compared to a Church with an altar containing His presence is an example of demonstrating the fullness of God to a lesser degree.

Whether Essence and Existence are the Same in God?

God is His own essence and existence because He is the first efficient cause. In created things, its existence may differ from its essence, which indicates another agent at work that is either prior in time or coming later. Nothing created can create itself, for this is impossible. God’s existence must be His own essence because He is the One who Creates and is therefore not the Created. As we see with sin, which was not created by God, but is the product of a potentiality from creatures who were given a free will from God who is the actuality, or the Unmoved, it just so happens that the existence of the sinful man, who is destined to die in his ways, becomes separated from the path shown to him for what his essence was designed to be which is the path of life and goodness in God, void of sin. A schism between essence and existence is occurring and growing larger among swathes of people throughout the world, especially in western societies, where the boy strays from his essence to become a girl in existence, which is false. A woman knows what is good and just but decides to do what is evil and wrong, thus straying from her essence given to her by the First Efficient Cause, which is God, who made her in goodness, but now has become an instrument of death by way of sin, which is the state of existing while perpetually opposing her essence given to her.

Whether God is Contained in a Genus?

God is not contained in a genus, for a genus must come before what exists, summing up its principles and attributes into a categorical spectrum understandable by whoever contemplates it. Not true for God, because nothing comes before Him, therefore, God is not contained in a Genus. People who do not know the Living God often attempt to depict His words and testimony as a falsity - lumping the belief in God into false categories, for example, Christian nationalism, mythology, fanfiction, sci-fi, or magic. In this sense, these labels are not the principles of any genus for what they are attempting to describe, which is God, who is indescribable, nor are they appropriate categorical elements to describe what they heap abuse upon through lack of understanding and ignorance.

Whether in God There are any Accidents?

It is impossible that there be any accidents in God. For it was concluded earlier that God is an actuality, and not a potentiality. In other words, He is the Unmoved (actuality) that makes all things moving (potentiality). There can be accidents caused by those of the moving, who are moved by the First Mover, who Himself is Unmoved. For people like you and me, we incur fault and perform accidental things we regret every day, because our potential is divisible by infinity (as we understand finite/infinite things), according to the free will the Lord has given us. Not so in God, for He doesn’t give Himself anything, or needs anything from anyone else, for He was before all things, and everything He puts into existence is purposeful and intentional. For what springs forth from the created that is not good or accidental can also be called a privation (not quite right/lacking in something) according to Saint Thomas Aquinas. This is not attributed to God but is recognized as a deficiency. It is also proper to call what we know as a deficiency “sin.” For the man does not quite add up to what he was made for, when he decides (accident) to pursue lower pleasures and desires such as sexual immorality, thus defiling the Holy Temple that is his body, and rendering this sacred space inhospitable for God’s Holy Spirit, which was meant for him since the beginning of the age. In the same way, a decision (accident) the woman makes to pursue a career that calls her to lie and harm others financially, would be a deficiency of the good, for not telling the truth in order to take something from someone that does not belong to her is what we would attribute to sin - for it is a lack of charity that one does this and an act of selfishness. As the atheist falsely proclaims, “this was the Lord’s doing” and “I wouldn’t do this if He alone did not make me this way” is false. For the things men and women do by their own free will are accidents and not attributed to God, for He is not the cause of sin, nor did He ever invent sin. Everything that the Lord made is “good.” Thus, it is impossible that what He made would be deficient or evil, for this is the decision (accident) of creatures, which come forth from their free will that was given to them as a gift from God, and is the sole variable that shall separate the created from the creator in the age to come. For the purpose of understanding this concept any further, it is important to realize the accountable actions on the Lord’s part stops at the measure where the created makes a choice, for He ordained that they shall choose (accidents) and either be glorified or condemned according to their ways. Does mankind receive help along the way? Of course they do, by way of grace.

Whether God is Altogether Simple?

God is simple; for He has no quantitative parts, no matter or form, He is not a composite being like creatures and humans, nor is His essence separated from His existence, He does not belong to a genus, nor can He be categorized in such a way. He is void of accident and contradiction, unlike created things, to which all things must adjust accordingly to in potentiality from actuality – which is God, the ultimate efficient cause, Unmoved in the sense He makes all things both matter, form, and the creature move. In His simplicity, He is absolute, not a part consisting of many parts, but the unifying force which causes all parts that are composite and complex to unite. People in the world do not value simplicity, nor do they recognize its treasure. Complex composite creatures strive further to make composite plans with complex points and outcomes, to the point they become unreachable. If they are reachable, those plans heap abuse upon other creatures, to which those creatures fall victim to. In the simplicity of God, His points, instruction, and handiwork has been made clear for all to see. But the world does not accept His simplicity, but chooses many complexities, even complex things that make no sense at all, which in turn start out as accidents (free choices) and then gradually morph into destructive outcomes. If the purpose of avoiding what is simple (God) is to do good by way of complexity (the way of the world), then the man who rejects what is simple finds himself achieving less than he ever intended, and in the process harming others according to the complex ways of this world that he pursued which is prone to deficiency (sin) and disorder.

Whether God Enters into the Composition of Other Things?

God cannot enter the composition of other things in the sense that He is co mingling with animated composite beings consisting of matter and form, for it would be impossible because what is a composite form consisting of matter in the animated sense is potentiality (created things, divisible by infinity) and is posterior of actuality and an efficient cause, which is simply God alone. The leg itself does not just kick the ball, but the man who controls his own leg uses his free will to enact the matter assigned to his form which puts forth in motion his composite parts (body and soul) to fulfill the act of kicking the ball. It has been proven previously that God is simple, and is not composite, nor is God in potentiality, which is the realm of the composite and created, but is before it in actuality and primacy. Therefore, God does not enter into the composition of other things in the sense we would think in reality. Furthermore, God does not enter us as if He is going to become us, nor does He need to do this. He may influence us by His will and the messengers He sends, but He does not enter into the composition of our bodies or things around us, for all of this belongs to Him in a different and much higher way than we can understand.

I am blessed to be a Third Order Lay Dominican. However, the ideas expressed in this post are my own and do not represent the endorsement of or position of the Order of Preachers as a whole.

Commentary regarding Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae derived from: ST part (I), Q. 1-26 from newadvent.org with permission.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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