How Thomas Aquinas Is the Most Important Figure of His Age

¶ … Thomas Aquinas is the most important figure of his age. Many people have heard of Thomas Aquinas, but fewer know why he is the most important figure of the 1200s and beyond.

Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican monk, a writer, and a philosopher. He created much of the modern Catholic Church doctrine and regulations, and was made a saint in 1323. Thomas combined the best of theologian and philosopher, and his life indicates that religion can be successfully based on both. He learned much from an extensive study of Aristotle and his writings, and he went on to write about Aristotle frequently and in great detail. He used Aristotle's order of determination to demonstrate Christian thinking and philosophy, and interpreted Aristotle's writings to fit his own individual theologies. He understood how to blend theology with philosophy, and come up with another from of theology that helped explain God and his purpose. In fact, he called his theories "philosophical theology," and his work helped show that philosophy and theology can support each other, and even make each other more understandable and believable.

While Thomas' thoughts were controversial at the time, and disputed after his death, eventually, the importance of his philosophies were discovered and many theologians studied them. Pope Leo XIII understood his importance in 1879, and called for additional study into his writings and theories. Thus, many universities and colleges, along with religious institutions looked deeper into his works, and used his writings and ideas to reshape their curriculums and doctrines. For many decades, much of the Catholic doctrine was made of up Thomas' thoughts, and Pope John Paul II renewed interest in Thomas when he issued an encyclical to study his work again in 1998. Thus, Thomas has remained one of the most studied and important theologians for centuries and his work still influences philosophical and theological thought today. This is why he is the most influential and important figure of his age. His work has stood the test of time, and is even more respected than it was when he was alive. His ideas are timeless, and much modern religious thought is based on his comprehensive views of Aristotle and his writings. Thus, Thomas showed that religion could be intensely spiritual, but also philosophical and open to scientific thought and reason.

Thomas' writings came at a time when there was great discord between the ideas of faith and reason. Many scholars felt the two could not coexist, and they renounced the works of Greek philosophers such as Aristotle. Thomas' work proved the two ideas could coexist and even foster each other, and he had the ability to write and share his ideas with others, so they did not disappear. He influenced both philosophical and theological thought so greatly that his ideas translated into schools, doctrine, and curricula all around the world. His theories are known as the "thomistic school of philosophy," and he is still known as a Doctor of the Catholic Church, one of only thirty-three. Today, he is recognized as one of the greatest thinkers of all time, and many schools and universities bear his name. He was a great man, a great thinker, and a great philosopher who changed world thought and created new reasons for people to believe in God and religious thought.