God's Knowledge (Aquinas 101)

“The philosopher says that God's knowledge is the measure of things, and that things are the measure of man's knowledge.” -Jacques Maritain
God's knowledge is not in the world or from it. God's knowledge is beyond ours and of a different order than ours, and the knowledge of God would be what it is even if there were no world.

God's Knowledge (Aquinas 101) - Fr. James Brent, O.P.

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[fojedaquintana]

'In the eternal gaze upon Himself He sees you' those mystical implications of this theology are so appealing! Thanks for sharing these videos

[CureInsomnia]

This is the best eight minutes and thirty three seconds on the internet. The necessity before the first cause. It explains the natural orientation of reality. Now all science and understanding can proceed from this and can't exist apart from this. Well presented, Fr Brent.

[derekwhite]

The kool thing about monks is they are so good at not showing the suffering they are subject to in the efforts to understand connections underlying multiple principles; or in other words "the suffering that comes with wisdom". So thank u thomistic institute for having the grace to share the " fruits of your labors"

[bestpossibleworld]

Wow, I have been studying Aquinas for 16+ years and this was the best, most comprehensive exploration of God's knowledge I have ever seen. Bravo!

Of note is the explanation of how God's simplicity creates a vast multiplicity of participating beings.

[rc]

Wow...never thought of God, in such a way...just wow

[patgabriel]

aquinas 101 with its clarity and truth is so necessary in our confused and irrational world. Thanks to the Dominican Friars of the Thomistic Institute for your insightfulness and timeliness.

[kristindreko]

Thank you for this video!
May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you!

[chriskambach]

This is beautiful. So beautiful. And such an amazing prelude to Aquinas’ discussion of Providence and Predestination. Thank you! Deo Gratias!

[luluq]

These videos are such a treasure. From the abyss of my nothingness I thank you.

[markmenotti]

Fantastic presentation yet again, Thomistic Institute. Love live the Dominician Order!

[bloodmooncomix]

Reformed Theology:
The last statement summed up the entire argument for me!
🙏😣 7:55

[georgerobertson]

In order for us to be truly moral, we must be truly free to choose, hence all we can know of God is faith, resonance and intimation

[SK-legm]

dude. this series is fantastic. thanks so much for this folks. aquinas now on my radar as a big thinker !!!

[vikrantvijit]

So deep profound sound mind knowledge based on God World of greater goods through hands of friends and heads of families.

[catherinecarroll]

Brilliant and helpful Thank you. God bless

[fernandolh]

I oved it, specially when it comes to conclusions about truth for us, and for God. Thank you Fr. James and the TI brothers for these videos. God bless!

00:21 God Knows in a higher way than ours, in a mysterious way. We can catch, though, a glimpse of his knowledge

00:54 What God's knowledge is NOT:
1) It's not a knowledge coming through senses (00:57): It's not imaginative knowledge, neither stoch in some memory (running the risk of being forgotten!), thanks to some physical organs (01:07)
2) It's not a Knowledge derived from natural learning: there's no change in God (01:17)
3) It's not a knowledge that has to do with judgmentes, reasoning, deduction from ideas... (01:24)

01:39 God is simple, his knowledge is not in the world and doesn't come from it: it's beyond our knowledge and differs from ours so much that...
... 01:55 God's knowledge would still be what it is even if there were no world!!

02:05 For Aquinas: God's knowledge IS an ETERNAL, SIMPLE GAZE
1) He first sees, eternally knows, himself, even before creation. (02:22)
2) In his sel eternal knowledge he knew what he'd create and how (02:25):
*) the nature, purpose of eache creature... (02:54),
*) different causes (03:01), (NATURAL CAUSES)
+) persons with free choice (03:12), with the ability to make things go in one sense or the other (03:21) (FREE PERSONS)

04:01: Thomas' ANALOGY: the model, and the different point of view of the artist
04:25 He knew the whole of creation in all of its details, from the beginning through the middle
to the end, even through the free choices of persons. Difficulty in the analogy?
05:03 Things in the world are not modeled on conceptions, ideas or images in
the mind of God, they're MODELED ON God, who's all simple

05:19 A bit more about divine ideas: a model and a circle of painters and the self knowledge of the model in the protrables ways of being painted

06:21 "God knows his essence as so imitable by such a creature and knows it as the particular
model and idea of that creature." (Aquinas)
06:32 The divine ideas are God seeing his own simple being as susceptible to participation or imitation
in various ways by various creatures.
(Free meditation: divinisation imitating God's love
'....As the Father has loved me, love one another.... this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you...')
06:42 plurality is in the many imitating creatures in various ways, not in the model

06:51 God's knowledge is the criterion of truth for all things. 06:56 TRUTH:
07:00 Existing things: between two minds, God's and ours.
07:16 Human judgment may be qualified as true when it matches with what is about that judgement in reality
07:25 Things are true in theirselves when they match what that thing really is (has become) in the understanding of God
07:56 Our understanding of things is true when it matches what things are, but things are true
when they match God's understanding of what they are.

[maryjohnstone]

Clearly explained, n most interesting, thank you so much!:

[bestpossibleworld]

The difference between our knowledge and God's (according to Aquinas) is that we can gather information by our senses and comprehend things in our minds. They become intelligible to us. God though, knows things by actually causing them to exist. He never abstracts anything from the environment. He causes all things to exist by His knowledge.

[maryjohnstone]

Thanks Fr.forvthat great video, I hate for it to finish, I'm so taken with so much information, so clearly delivered G B U.

[CorbinDavies-pr]

As long as you hold more knowledge you will have more degrees of capacity than those with less and thus more freedoms. More capacity.