Thomas Aquinas

Episode Synopsis

In lecture five, we explore the doctrine of creation through Thomas Aquinas’s teaching on why God creates despite His perfection and self-sufficiency. Aquinas argues that God creates not from need but from the Platonic principle of “bonum diffusivum sui” — the good is diffusive of itself. We then examine creation ex nihilo (creation from nothing), which reveals creation as a continual relationship with God rather than simply a past event. Bishop Barron concludes by discussing how God as artist creates a beautifully diverse world to display His glory, setting up the next topic of divine providence and the problem of evil.