Top 15 Quotes of Thomas Aquinas
Published on December 5, 2007 - 48 Comments
Recently we have had some interesting discussions between atheists and religious people on some of our lists. This has inspired me to write a series of lists on topics relating to both sides of the story. To start with, I am doing this list of 15 of the most brilliant quotes from Saint Thomas Aquinas. Thomas Aquinas was one of the greatest theological thinkers of the 13th century. His impact on Christianity was so immense that his writings are still at the core of Roman Catholic seminary education. He is the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and the father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology.
Quotes 1 - 5
1. A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational.
2. All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly.
3. Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.
4. Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.
5. By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments.
Quotes 6 - 10
6. Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.
7. How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.
8. How is it they live in such harmony the billions of stars - when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their minds about someone they know.
9. It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.
10. Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.
Quotes 11 - 15
11. That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell.
12. The things that we love tell us what we are.
13. Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.
14. To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.
15. Wonder is the desire for knowledge.
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1. dangorironhide - December 5th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Talking about religious quotes, I saw a hilarious quote by the Pope in the paper the other day.
About atheism: “It is no accident that this idea has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice”
It’s not really that funny on its own, but when it’s coming from the leader of the Catholic church…
2. Cyn - December 5th, 2007 at 10:56 am
14. To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.
*exactly*
10. Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.
*love does prevail*
12. The things that we love tell us what we are.
*or the people. which means i am above all else, a mommie.*
wonderful list J. course i’m looking forward to what you post re: atheism.
3. FekketCantenel - December 5th, 2007 at 11:12 am
My money says it’s going to be a list of Dawkins quotes, not that that troll can hold a candle to Aquinas.
Favorite quote was #14. Good list, j.
4. JT - December 5th, 2007 at 11:13 am
5. By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments.
That cheeky bastard.
5. RobS - December 5th, 2007 at 11:21 am
JT, I was thinking the same thing!
“By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink”
6. DanOhh - December 5th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I think it was Aquinas who said, “We all have a paking space at the ‘House of the Lord’ but, you are not allowed to park in mine up in the front row.” Or maybe that was Martin Luther?
7. jfrater - December 5th, 2007 at 11:42 am
FekketCantenel - I will probably avoid Dawkins - his first book was fine, but then he went on a rant and lost credibility in my eyes. I will try to find a great mind from history. Suggestions welcome.
DanOhh: Aquinas was a very humble man - that sounds very unlike him. Luther, on the other hand, was far from humble - I would say it was him
8. SocialButterfly - December 5th, 2007 at 11:54 am
JT: I thought I was the only one who was thinking pervertedly…lol glad to see I’m not the only dirty mind.
9. Canuck - December 5th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
How about Voltaire? He has some excellent quotations about atheism, and he’s well respected by everyone.
10. Kelsi - December 5th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I love these lists of quotes! But I’d have to say that I disagree with him on 10. =/ Hate does more often I think. But yeah, there are some really good ones here, even for those who don’t really…eh…worship. =)
11. jfrater - December 5th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Canuck: was Voltaire an atheist? I thought he believed in God but rejected formal religion.
12. SubliminalDeath666 - December 5th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Great another boring quotes list by someone I don’t know!
13. EAL - December 5th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
just noticed its the only list that counts up
14. Canuck - December 5th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Well, now that I think of it that is true. But still, his quotations on dogma, fanatics, witch hunting, blindly following what others tell you to do and tolerance are all very good.
15. Aardy - December 5th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
David Hume perhaps?
16. JT - December 5th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
If you want to do quotes by atheists/secularists but don’t want to do Dawkins (I personally love him but w/e) then Nietzsche and Russell are always good bets. Epicurus has a few quotes too. And maybe even Carl Sagan.
17. davo - December 5th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
I’ve made up some good religious quotes eg:
Scientology is the retarded kid in a room full of losers.
18. jfrater - December 6th, 2007 at 12:56 am
Okay - thanks for the suggestions guys - I think the next one will be fun.
19. evan - December 6th, 2007 at 6:29 am
“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. ”
isnt that the truth…
20. Graveno - December 6th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
To one who has faith, no explanation is heard. To one without faith, an explanation is necessary.
This is more like it.
21. Juggz - December 6th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Best Aethiest quote ever as far as i know it was from House but it may have been taken from somthing else
“Rational arguments don’t usually work on religious people. Otherwise, there would be no religious people.”
22. Mikerodz - December 7th, 2007 at 5:09 am
I love this quotes except #11 which makes me wonder, who permitted the saint to see the punishment of the damned in hell? Unless he personally talk to God himself…then..besides, it sounds a bit sadistic to me.
23. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 5:15 am
Mikerodz: much of his writing was based upon the beliefs and teachings of the early Church fathers - so presumably Jesus must have shared that information with the apostles. Additionally - a lot of his ideas also came from logical conclusions based upon other dogmas of the Church. For example:
God says: All dogs are black
I see a white animal with four legs and a wagging tail - even though God didn’t say it was not a dog directly, I know it is not a dog because it is not black.
Simplistic - but you get the point I am sure
24. Mikerodz - December 7th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Well put and said Jamie.
25. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Mikerodz: thanks
26. el duderino - December 7th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
You’re right oh so clever Dangorironhide, compared to Hitler’s Third Reich - 6 million murdered in the camps, 72 million dead world wide in WWII, Stalin’s Soviet Union - 60 million dead in purges, collectivization and man made famines, Mao’s Red China - 30 million dead also with purges, collectivization and man made famines, Pol Pot’s Cambodia - 2.3 million people murdered in the killing fields out of a population of 7 million, and North Korea under the oh so clever policies of Kim Jong Il lost 3.5 million men, women and children to famine in the 1990s - the Catholic Church is the most blood soaked institution in the history of the universe.
Clues abound on the Internet, see if you can find yourself one.
27. phubbie - December 9th, 2007 at 3:44 am
These quotes reach out to me more than the one’s above
You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood become a matter of life and death to you. – C. S. Lewis
Make sure the thing you’re living for is worth dying for. – Charles Mayes
No statue has ever been erected to a critic. – Jean Sibelius
Remember death and the attractions of life will fade away before you. – Shenouda III
Too many of us have a Christian vocabulary rather than a Christian experience. – Charles F. Banning
28. WildWest - December 9th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I love these quotes…
I don’t know anything more true than 14.
And I feel bad for all the ignorant people who think it’s intelligent to call people with a religion losers.
We have a varying opinion from you…no need to insult us. Believe me, I’ve put much thought into my religion, I do not follow it blindly. I have my reasons for practicing it.
Also, well put el duderino.
29. Reg123456 - December 10th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Quote 11 is complete bullshit. It depicts a spiteful angry God.
Dangorironhide, “It is no accident that [atheism] has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice” - It’s not so ridiculous when you start to do some research on the justification some people give for their crimes. I mean, doesn’t it make sense to think that if someone doesn’t believe in God that person doesn’t have to answer to anyone, and so loses their sense of morality? That’s exactly what happened in those school shootings in Europe and USA. They figure “Humans are just another form of coincident chemical reactions and are nothing more than a highly evolved animal. HEY, we kill animals and eat them, so why should killing the human animal be such an issue?”
So look at it closely and it’s not such a crazy statement AT ALL.
30. jfrater - December 10th, 2007 at 3:41 am
Reg: Aquinas was a Catholic theologian and philosopher - the Catholic Church (along with the Jews and the Orthodox) believes in hell - it would make sense that Aquinas would talk about it. Also - they don’t believe it makes God angry or spiteful - they believe it makes him just - true justice is when the good are rewarded and the bad punished.
31. Mauricio Ramirez - December 10th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
This very same stupid guy came to the conclusion that worms were spontaneously created on a dead body. Ja! Pendejo!
32. bpower - December 23rd, 2007 at 10:27 am
Reg,
If you think that depicts a spiteful angry God you should stay away from the Old Testament.
Most of these quotes wouldn’t look out of place on one of those tacky motivational posters.
15. Wonder is the desire for knowledge.
Eh, no it’s not, curiosity is the desire for knowledge. I’ve often heard religious people complaining that knowing the details of something makes its less special, the “miracle” of child birth for just one example.
Here’s the path that theologins take,
1) Get brought up to believe in X religion.
2) Spent rest of life looking for justification for belief in X.
I mean, can any Christian on this board honestly say that if they were born into a Jewish family (or Muslim,Buddhist etc,etc) they wouldn’t spend their life happily believing in Judaism?
If you were born in Europe 3000 years ago, right now you’d be running around naked howling at the winter moon with the rest of them.
33. devilishgrin66 - February 14th, 2008 at 2:14 am
JFrater - im jewish, although hardly (i turned atheist almost immediately after being bar mitzvahed) but i thought that the jews didn’t believe in hell?
el dude - the church might not have directly killed as many people as those other institutions but they have consented to or authorized just as many.
Its not exactly great to look at it this way but the catholic church is also widely responsible for AIDs, through its stance on birth control.
34. B8ovin - February 19th, 2008 at 2:41 am
I find it odd when people confuse political systems with philosophical/theological ways of thinking. Because philosophically the USSR was atheistic it follows that their political system was an atheistic government? Hardly. Hitler was a devout christian, and maintained the Third Reich was a christian movement. There is no church or religion of atheism. It is a naturalistic philosophical view, that proposes humanistic and natural motives for things like “morality”. It does not follow that a lack of belief in an invisible designer or creator leads precisely to inhumanity or immorality. The fact that some governments that happened to not believe in the Christian god, or any god committed atrocities is not evidence that they did so because of that lack of belief. That is logically erroneous. Many of the same people who committed these atrocities were meat eaters. Would you then posit that meat eating is makes one immoral? Or would you have the record of atrocities committed in the name of various gods expunged? Read the eighth quote above to see the cause of these horrific deeds. Man’s inhumanity to man, regardless the philosophy of the criminal.
35. God Is Imaginary - March 2nd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Indeed B8ovin. And interesting enough, the statistics for ‘immorality’ as caused by governments believing or not in any religion are actually pretty revealing. Look up european life statistics vs american life statistics in relation to religion.
as for you, Reg123456:
“Dangorironhide, “It is no accident that [atheism] has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice” - It’s not so ridiculous when you start to do some research on the justification some people give for their crimes. I mean, doesn’t it make sense to think that if someone doesn’t believe in God that person doesn’t have to answer to anyone, and so loses their sense of morality? That’s exactly what happened in those school shootings in Europe and USA. They figure “Humans are just another form of coincident chemical reactions and are nothing more than a highly evolved animal. HEY, we kill animals and eat them, so why should killing the human animal be such an issue?”
So look at it closely and it’s not such a crazy statement AT ALL.”
that is a pretty illogical stance there, wouldn’t you agree?
especially this line…..”I mean, doesn’t it make sense to think that if someone doesn’t believe in God that person doesn’t have to answer to anyone, and so loses their sense of morality?”
Morality is something religions do not actively demonstrate. In fact, most religions are downright hypocritical when it comes to such matters.
As for what this does to humanity and why there should be no religion, go to this website
By the way, the pope must have never heard of a little thing called the crusades or the spanish inquisition if he said something like that…
36. wolfus - March 31st, 2008 at 5:47 am
#14 is a great example of how religions (with the help of pompous theologians like Aquinas) have developed increasingly better ways to totally immunize themselves with *criticism* - notice that #14, if consistent, ought to apply to *every* belief one takes only on faith. It’s the most ridiculous I’ve heard: trivially true, in one sense, ans trivially false, in another. So stupid.
37. bitter crank - April 4th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
bpower said:
“If you were born in Europe 3000 years ago, right now you’d be running around naked howling at the winter moon with the rest of them.”
No, if you were born in Europe 3000 years ago, right now you’d be a very old corpse. By the way, just what is wrong with running around naked and howling at the winter moon?
It seems to me that T. Aquinas had an epiphany at one point, and suddenly saw god more clearly. Possibly. Anyway, if I remember correctly, what he said was “All that I have written is straw.”
Is it possible that all the verbally abusive atheists that hit the blogs are actually former judgmental Baptists? Bertrand Russell said that you can tell what kind of a Christian you WERE by the kind of atheist you ARE.
If you now think religion is baloney, then you should be able to be tolerate it with more equanimity. There are lots of baloney-ious belief systems around, but I only hear you complaining about one. If you are really rational (and not just angry about having to go to Sunday School) then you should act like it.
From one atheist to another, for God’s sake, make peace with it and get on with you life.
38. jfrater - April 4th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
devilishgrin66: Orthodox Jews believe in Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory - just as Catholics do.
39. Captain Jerry - May 11th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
It does not matter what one believes. The only thing that matters is what is true. Avoid belief and strive to learn what’s real. All mystics are liars.
40. Mark - June 4th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Thomas Aquinas pwns.
41. grungefreak10 - June 27th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I am very much an agnostic. It is not so much that I don’t believe in God, I just don’t believe in organized religion.
Did evolution occur? Yes
Does that mean that there’s no God? No
But does that mean that simply being a Non-Christian is a crime that warrants infinite punishment? Give me a break.
42. nelson - July 3rd, 2008 at 8:55 am
captai jerry is right all mystics are liars
43. stre - July 9th, 2008 at 3:38 am
number 6 from hebrews 11 in the bible