Natural Knowledge of God in the Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquina

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reason would lead thea; they tail to reoopile oreated ettect. as~logue.
ot the Divine Being and thus they taU to understand the manitold .... y. in
which God oaused sensible beings to represent the perfeotion ot Bie Infinite
Being. 22 'ailing to see being. in their relation to Being, the,. do not reo-
..,
ogni,e the oreature as a term ot that relation which binds tinite to tinite
and all things to the Wini te J
with the bond of _taphyeical lUli ty. 1here
results a distortion ot the per.pective of beJng; what ou~t to be a wuniver.e"
beoomes an utterly diversified maltitude.
!o those who deny the aaalogy ot being, neither the beooming nor the
being ot the tini to turnishes man with a means ot aoquiring natural knowledge
ot God.
'1'0 such, God reuins lDlkDowable and the universe beco.e.
oorrespondingly unintelligible. !o the 1hom.t, the analogy of being contera
proportional unity on the diversitt of beings. !be intrinsie relation
ot being to existenoe that is oom.oa to all, tro. the least ot tinite be·
ing. to Infinite Being, enables the philosopher to begin his inquiry con­ .....
• el"lliDg God '. existenoe and Bi. nature with the in8ufticiency ot the finite
and to reach positive conclusions about God'. existeaoe and Bis attributes.
I
22 St. tha.a., Summa 1heOl0eica, I a, q. 12, art. 12, cor ••
Our alad can not be led .ense .0 tar aa to .ee the e •• enoe of God,
ftoau.e the senaible ettects ot God do not equal the po .... r ot God a. their
oau.e. Benoe tro. the knowledge ot .ensible things the whole po .... r ot God
cumot be DOWIl... But beoaJl.e they are Bi. etfeota and depend on their
oau.e, ... oan be led trom them .0 tar a. to know ot God whether Be ezbt.,
and to know of Bia what must nece •• arill" belong to Hi., as the tIrst cau.e
ot all things, exceeding all things oau.ed by Bia.