Lesson 30 –
Aquinas on the Eternity of the World

Aquinas knew, by faith, that arguments for the eternity of the world were false and that God had created the world “in the beginning” at some particular moment. But, rather than simply dismissing the argument or proving its opposite, he took the time to grapple with it and to understand it. This approach not only prevented him from making a hasty and flawed defense of the faith, but also led him to a deeper understanding of what it really means for God to be the creator of the physical world.

Course Reading

De Aeternitate Mundi (pt. I) | St. Thomas Aquinas

De Aeternitate Mundi (pt. II) | St. Thomas Aquinas

Excerpt from De Aeternitate Mundi:

Let us assume, in accordance with the Catholic faith, that the world had a beginning in time. The question still arises whether the world could have always existed, and to explain the truth of this matter, we should first distinguish where we agree with our opponents from where we disagree with them. If someone holds that something besides God could have always existed, in the sense that there could be something always existing and yet not made by God, then we differ with him: such an abominable error is contrary not only to the faith but also to the teachings of the philosophers, who confess and prove that everything that in any way exists cannot exist unless it be caused by him who supremely and most truly has existence. However, someone may hold that there has always existed something that, nevertheless, had been wholly caused by God, and thus we ought to determine whether this position is tenable.

Course Listening

Good, Simple, and Eternal: What Philosophy Teaches Us about God | Prof. W. Matthews Grant

Philosophy, Religion, and Rationality | Prof. Michael Gorman

This episode was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this project are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.