What did the Dominicans stress? How did Thomas respond to the efforts to change his beliefs?

Question

What did the Dominicans stress? How did Thomas respond to the efforts to change his beliefs?

Answer 1

Hi Karanbir,

First, it's important to understand the Dominican Order. Friars and nuns in the order live by Four Pillars of Dominican Life, they are: community life, common prayer, study and service. Dominic of Caleruega, the founder, called this fourfold pattern of life the "holy preaching".

Saint Thomas Aquinas believed that the existence of God could be proven in five ways, mainly by:

1) observing movement in the world as proof of God, the "Immovable Mover"

2) observing cause and effect and identifying God as the cause of everything

3) concluding that the impermanent nature of beings proves the existence of a necessary being, God, who originates only from within himself

4) noticing varying levels of human perfection and determining that a supreme, perfect being must therefore exist

5) knowing that natural beings could not have intelligence without it being granted to them it by God. Subsequent to defending people's ability to naturally perceive proof of God, Thomas also tackled the challenge of protecting God's image as an all-powerful being.

Hope this helps!