St. Thomas Aquinas' Favorite Argument for the Existence of God (Aquinas 101)

Does God exist? Where's the proof? This is one of the great questions, and St. Thomas Aquinas takes it head on with his famous “Five Ways” or “Five Proofs” for the existence of God. So, what was St. Thomas' favorite argument for the existence of God? How does the First Way work? In this episode of Aquinas 101: The Five Ways, join Fr. Philip-Neri Reese, O.P., a Dominican friar from the Province of St. Joseph, as he explains how St. Thomas Aquinas' first argument for the existence of God works.

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Aquinas 101 is a project of the Thomistic Institute that seeks to promote Catholic truth through short, engaging video lessons. You can browse earlier videos at your own pace or enroll in one of our Aquinas 101 email courses on St. Thomas Aquinas and his masterwork, the Summa Theologiae. In these courses, you'll learn from expert scientists, philosophers, and theologians—including Dominican friars from the Province of St. Joseph.

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[tedgrant]

My wife is not speaking to me at the moment and I am sure there is a cause.
It's comforting to know that God started it.

[jimklein]

I feel DIZZY anytime I have tried to study Aquinas so therefore I stop studying Aquinas because there is no chance I’ll understand it. BIG THANKS for your ability to get me to understand Aquinas!!

[therese_paula]

"If a dominican causes his audience to fall asleep with his boring philosophy lecture and falling asleep causes an audience member to be late for his next class, 'falling asleep' is both 'mover' and 'moved'...."
Have I said I love the Dominican humour? 😁

[JohnR.T.B.]

Existence cannot be necessitated by changes, but existence is simply something rather than nothing or non-existence by definition, while changes (causality) imply internal activities or mechanism within a certain existence. Since if there is no existence at all, then there cannot be any change; hence since there are changes, existence does exist. However, since changes do not create existence but require existence, hence existence itself is not caused by nature but must be eternally present, and hence there exists "the unmoved mover" or "the unchanged cause of change" that causes all changes.

[Shevock]

It is my favorite. The big bang was itself a reaction. Re-actions are acted upon and cannot be the first point. The unmoved mover.

[josephezekielsegismar]

I've just downloaded all your videos and I listen to all your talks everyday. Everyday time I listen to your talks my soul desires to know more God and communion with him.

[aertonpaulosenacesarsena]

Santo Tomaz de Aquino, " Rogai por nós!'👏👏🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[xrisc]

I can’t believe you’ve got me excited to see the next video!

[roisinpatriciagaffney]

Thank you, Father Reese. These lessons are essential. Almighty God bless you.

[Harlow]

Very well presented! (and no, I did not fall asleep even for a second 😉) I love these bite sized videos breaking down the arguments of the great Doctor. I have to say though, whenever I hear those bells I stop what I’m doing and listen…well trained 🤔

[northeastchristianapologet]

Love this channel. They do such a good job. This is also my favorite argument.

[winstonbarquez]

St. Thomas added in the progression of his argument, as in the second way, that to interpose no FIRST in the series will result in an infinite regression which is impossible (or something to this effect); thus, the FIRST mover exists whom everyone understands to be GOD.

[andreawill]

The wonderful thing about God is, He IS. There is no need to prove...oh, everyone will find out that God IS... We 🙏 we stand on His side though

[hasieretxaparekareaga]

Very interesting video! I grew up in a syncretic community (very strong mixture of Pagan and Catholic), so these teachings have always been fascinating to me because they follow a really unique logic. Saint Thomas was so clever and so ahead of his time, to create such a solid logical argument for the existence of God and, paradoxically, put the foundations for his argument on a palpable, "earthly" bedrock that every human can relate to. Saint Thomas was a true Christian thinker because he was NOT a gatekeeper. Thank you very much for making these teachings accessible and easy to understand. Have a blessed day!

[RomanCatholicAspiringScholar]

Great explanation as always, God bless.

[michaelocampo]

thanks for this lecture. I was moved and I am changed :)

[pauljordan]

I want to invite everybody to watch trees blowing in the wind. Trees grow, and therefore this brilliantly and calmly illustrates God as first cause and first mover.

[DistributistHound]

First video in a while that was super clear to me that I understood it the first time I watched it.
Thank you very much! God Bless

[pauljordan]

First cause and Subsistent Existence.

A former archbishop said Aquinas is a genius.

[davysmom]

Thank you for a great clip. A great resource to refer to where there is much "palpable" intelligence!