A Place to Start

Where do you start with Aquinas? For anyone interested in the Thomistic system but daunted by the shear volume of material that Aquinas wrote and that others have written about him, I recommend Norman Geisler's Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Appraisal as a place to start. While any number of caveats might be attached to this recommendation--it's an entry-level overview, it strains to read some protestant ideas into Aquinas, it just gets some things wrong--it is, nevertheless, a worthwhile read.

Dr. Geisler's well-known ability to reduce complex subjects to their simplest form and to organize principles and themes into their most logical arrangement holds true here. In 175 quickly-turning pages, Geisler moves succinctly through the life and major ideas of the greatest of the schoolman taking on everything from the relationship of faith and reason to the Parmenidean riddle, divine simplicity, and the problem of religious language. As Geisler makes his case that the medieval Doctor of the Catholic Church has much to offer the modern evangelical, he goes to great lengths to establish his argument with an abundance of quotations from original sources and classic Thomistic authorities. As is commonly the case with Geisler, his argument is clear and compelling. Whether you agree with him by the end of the book or not, you will know what the major questions in Thomism are, where he stands, and what your options are if you disagree with him.

As I read through the book, I did find myself disagreeing with Aquinas and with Geisler at times. It seems that Dr. Geisler anticipated this response in his reader. Maybe he just knew something of the general evangelical impression of Aquinas. Or, maybe he recognized in himself the same tendency. In any case, Dr. Geisler joins his reader in disagreeing with Aquinas in many points, several of which he discloses in his epilogue:

Lest my appreciation for Aquinas be misunderstood to mean that I buy into his ideas "lock, stock, and barrel," let it be said that there are many things with which I disagree. I certainly disagree with his view on transubstantiation. I also disagree with his acceptance of the Apocrypha as a part of the canon of Scripture...There are many other things with which I disagree with Aquinas. The same is true of all philosophers and theologians I have ever read in any detail. Indeed, there are things I have written with which I now disagree. That is the way it is with fallible human writers. There is only one Book I read to believe; all others I read only to consider.

To be sure, there are more technical introductions to Aquinas, introductions which take themselves very seriously. Read those too. But, consider starting here. Dr. Geisler's comprehensive grasp of his subject and direct and candid delivery make this book a good investment of your time. It really is an easy weekend read that may introduce you to a lifetime interest.