Aquinas on God The 'Divine Science' of the Summa Theologiae Ashgate Studies in the History of Philosophical Theology Series

Aquinas on God presents an accessible exploration of Thomas Aquinas' conception of God. Focusing on the Summa theologiae - the work containing Aquinas' most systematic and complete exposition of the Christian doctrine of God - Rudi te Velde acquaints the reader with Aquinas' theological understanding of God and the metaphysical principles and propositions that underlie his project. Aquinas' conception of God is dealt with not as an isolated metaphysical doctrine, but from the perspective of his broad theological view which underlies the scheme of the Summa. Readers interested in Aquinas, historical theology, metaphysics and metaphysical discourse on God in the Christian tradition will find this new contribution to the studies of Aquinas invaluable.

Contents: Introduction: Thinking systematically about God from within the Christian tradition; A masterpiece of theology; The first thing to know: does God exist?, The heart of the matter: what God is (not); Divine names; God's proper action; A God of grace; Epilogue: Aquinas' God and the language of participation; Select bibliography; Index.

Rudi te Velde is Radboud Professor in the Relationship between Philosophy and Christianity at the University of Amsterdam, and Lecturer at the Department of Theology, University of Tilburg, The Netherlands.