Publications

The Knowledge and Emotions of Adam in Paradise: Imagining the Original Justice with Aquinas.
By Piotr Roszak

The description of Paradise in Aquinas’s theology is based on the concept of rectitude (‘rectitudo’), which points to the state of man living in what is called ‘original justice’ in a realistic – and not merely symbolic – way. Due to its temporality and non-definitive nature, Paradise represents a time that assumed the necessity of final salvation. Therefore, Adam’s faith in Paradise was necessary as a means of reaching Heaven. His sin changed the way or circumstances by which the human being reaches it, but not the goal itself. In this context, Aquinas looks at the relationship between the natural and moral order and Adam’s perfection before the Fall, which is relative (perfection at a given stage of development) rather than absolute. The paper will present Aquinas’s description of Adam’s way of knowing God in Paradise (which was not the beatific vision) as well as the nature of his faith before the Fall and its relationship to emotions and virtues. It will also refer to Aquinas’s thoughts on why the ‘old creation’ was needed at all and, thus, why the ‘new’ one was not established immediately. Finally, a question will be asked about the aspects of the Thomistic description of Paradise that may still be attractive to contemporary theologians in reference to modern science.

Who Is to Blame for the Sinking Ship? Aquinas on Divine Goodness, Evil and Freedom.
by Piotr Roszak

This paper presents the basic features of Aquinas’ theodicy, first indica- ting some difficulties regarding the problem of evil—or even attempts to im- plicate God in evil —that have emerged in the wake of scientific achievements, especially in the field of evolutionary biology. What is needed in response to these challenges is an appropriate view of God’s causality, which is analogous in character and does not constitute one of many causalities in the world. A correct understanding of the relationship between the First Cause and secon- dary causes sheds new light on the debate about the Creator’s responsibility for evil in the world. For Aquinas, God’s action is focused on the good of the whole, which is why the notion of integrity or rectitude, which was already present in Paradise, explains the accidental—not intentional—presence of evil in the world. Against that background, the paper explains God’s manner of re- sponding to evil as interpreted by Thomas Aquinas, which consists in conque- ring evil with the greater good, its paradigm being the Incarnation. For a Chri- stian, this is a model example of how a man can conquer evil by strengthening good and persisting in it through cooperation with grace.