2. Approaching the Question of God’s Existence (SCG 1,10–12)
Approaching the Question of God’s Existence (SCG 1,10–12)
AS I HAVE SAID, Aquinas thinks that there can be knowledge about God that does not depend on divine revelation. In this sense, he is an advocate or friend of natural theology. Yet what kind of natural theology does Aquinas favor, and from what kind does he distance himself? Also, should he be bothering with natural theology at all? For might not natural theology be dismissed or ignored on the basis of faith in God’s existence? To put this question another way, might it not be that it is only on the basis of faith, not reason, that we are entitled to claim to know that God exists? In SCG 1,10–12 we find Aquinas trying to deal with all of these questions.1