1. Does God have a plan or purpose for us?

2. Natural Law Key thinkers: Task: 5Ws on Aristotle
Aristotle influenced the work of Aquinas
Aquinas developed Natural Law using some of the teachings of Aristotle
Task: 5Ws on Aristotle

3. Aristotle Lived: 384 BC - 322 BC
Pupil to Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great
Used empirical observation to then reason to gain knowledge
Wrote over 200 books on many topics such as politics, natural philosophy and moral behaviour

4. St Thomas Aquinas
The natural law was developed by St Thomas Aquinas ( ).
Before Aquinas the medieval Church was facing challenges. Crusaders were bringing back new religious ideas from the Holy Land. The Church’s ideas were often confused and contradictory.
Aquinas was heavily influenced by the writings of Aristotle, in particular the idea that ‘rationality’ (the ability to reason) was a key element of human existence.
If Aquinas could reconcile the teachings of the Bible with ‘reason’, not just faith, then the challenges the Church was facing could be overcome.

5. Natural Law became a central feature of Roman Catholic moral thinking.
St Thomas Aquinas
Reason (based on Aristotle)
Faith, Bible &
Church Authority
‘New and improved’ Christianity
Natural Law became a central feature of Roman Catholic moral thinking.

6. By the end of the lesson I should be able to:
Who was Thomas Aquinas?
By the end of the lesson I should be able to:
Describe key events in the life of Thomas Aquinas
Task: Use the image and video to write down facts

7. Who was Aquinas?
Use the information stuck around the room to fill in your research chart
Be ready to feedback.

8. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was
an Italian Catholic philosopher and
the church's greatest theologian. He
was brought up in his family's castle
with seven brothers, educated at a
monastery and then the University
of Naples, after which he joined the
Dominican order at Naples.
The Dominican Order, is a Catholic religious order founded by the Spanish priest Saint Dominic de Guzman. Some of its members were at the forefront of the intellectual life of the Middle Ages.
The order is famed for its intellectual tradition, having produced many leading theologians and philosophers.

9. 2 His brothers were not happy about this,
and kidnapped Aquinas, holding him
captive for a year. They did everything
they could to dissuade him from returning
to the Dominican order, including
presenting him with a prostitute. He was
not tempted, and drove her away with a
firebrand.
Aquinas returned to the order and went
to study in Cologne under Albertus
Magnus ('Albert the Great'), who went
with him to Paris where he later gained a
doctorate and lectured in theology.
Aquinas was a large man - known to many
as 'the dumb ox', although Albert the
Great said of him that "the Dumb Ox will
bellow so loud his bellowing will fill the
world."

10. 3
The theory of Natural Law claims that all humans can discover what is right, what it is written into our nature in some way.
Aquinas thought that we all have a purpose and part of that is about our moral purpose and for us to be with God.
If we use our natural (nature) law and our reason we can learn what our purpose it and part of that includes morality and how to solve ethical dilemmas
His ideas gave the Church new direction and he is is often seen as the Father of the Modern Church.
Key Quote:
‘The Natural Law is promulgated (validated) by the very fact that God instilled it into men’s minds so as to be known by them naturally’

11. 4 Aquinas' work has had an astounding influence, yet after a mystical
experience only months before he
died, he declared
"I cannot go on...
All that I have written seems to me
like so much straw compared to what
I have seen and what has been
revealed to me."
Aquinas died in his 50th year. In
1323 he became a saint, and at the
Council of Trent in the mid 1500s,
only his work and the Bible were
placed on the altar. Aquinas' teaching
is seen by many Catholics as being the
basis of their theological position.

12. Review and Recall