Summa Blogologica - Question 3: Our God is a "Simple" God

 

The things below come from Question 3 of the Summa Theologiae, “Whether God is Simple.” They discuss many attributes of God, as does the great part of the Summa, all adding up to God being quite simple. You’ll soon understand what I mean. Here we go:

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God cannot have a body for a body is of matter and form. Matter and form are complimented by one other ingredient to make a body, which is the ability of change. Remember in the quinque viae (Five Proofs) that change was a proof of God, which made this “God” the necessary being for all other change in the world? That idea is important here for obvious reasons because God cannot undergo change (otherwise He would require a thing before and more powerful than Himself) and it directly shows why he does not have a body, by cause (a priori) and not effect (a posteriori).  [NOTE: think of a priori and a posteriori as evidence of something having happened prior to, and evidence of something having happened after, hence cause and effect]

Essence and nature are used interchangeably as terms, and God is the same as His essence or nature. Essence is what a thing “is”, e.g., humans have a nature that is “universal”. The argument against here is that God cannot be “in” Himself. That is, God does not have a body and so there is nothing to be in. However, God is just pure act, the prime mover, He is not like or akin to anything like a genus or species like offspring of another thing, He just is who He is and so whatever He is, is in fact, His very nature. “I am who I am.” Creatures receive their essence when they are created, but God was never created and so He never received his existence, but so instead He is His existence. This is a H.U.G.E. idea that the reader must remember going forward!

An accident is an external thing which is associated with a thing. For example, a hat has black color, it has its shape, its size, its smell, its taste. All of these things are accidents. So with God, we say that He has no accidents, obviously, because He does not have matter and form (hyle and morphe).

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In all of these ideas, as difficult to grasp as they might be, they make for what we refer to as the Simplicity of God. God is simple. Simple things are not complex. Complex things are made up of matter, form, accidents, bodies, … some have legs, eyes, DNA, proteins … but God has none of these. He might be infinite, powerful, and omniscient, but there are no complexities in God. God is simple! See?

Questions?

Fr. Kapaun, Medal of Honor

A rare thing happened today. So far as my limited knowledge is concerned it has never happened before. An Army Chaplain was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His name is Emil Kapaun and what most don't know is that he has had a cause for sainthood for some time now.

From Stripes.com:

Although a retreat had been ordered, the priest stayed behind to tend the wounded and comfort the dying, and continued to make his rounds even as hand-to-hand combat ensued. He convinced an injured Chinese officer to negotiate the safe surrender of American forces. And then, seeing a Chinese soldier about to execute a wounded GI, Kapaun calmly pushed aside the enemy and carried the U.S. soldier away.
 

He did not end his service there. Fr. Kapaun carried a wounded soldier four miles, snuck past guards to forage food in the forest for food, boiled water as dysentery ensued and was known to promote sharing. Honorable. IF you have ever heard a Korean War veteran talk about their experience, they all have one thing in common: bitterly cold. Fr. Kapaun was known to regularly give his clothes away to keep the other warm. He ultimately died as a POW in a hospital. Before this he administered sacraments, offered rosary prayers and gave hope to the other Americans. This Chaplain is a true war hero; not sniping and run-and-gunning, not Rambo, a Priest.

As said, he has a cause for sainthood. In 1993 the Vatican gave him the title "Servant of God."

Many have become saints, many have received the Medal of Honor but I cannot remember a Chaplain who get it, and also has a cause for Sainthood. There happens to also be a book coming out this year by author Roy Wenzel "The Miracle of Father Kapaun."








http://www.frkapaun.org/index.html is a website dedicated to his cause and it's a good resource if you wish to learn more.

His prayer, taken from the website:

 

PRAYERLord Jesus, in the midst of the folly of war,
your servant, Chaplain Emil Kapaun spent himself
in total service to you on the battlefields and
in the prison camps of Korea, until his
death at the hands of his captors.

We now ask you, Lord Jesus, if it be your will,
to make known to all the world the holiness
of Chaplain Kapaun and the glory of his
complete sacrifice for you by signs of
miracles and peace.

In your name, Lord, we ask, for you are the
source of peace, the strength of our
service to others, and our final hope.

Amen