St. Thomas Aquinas on Evolution

Not only did Big Tom believe in evolution from the apes: he deliberately made himself look like a capuchin monkey.

In the recent past, I pointed out that Evolution  was no new idea with Darwin, but had been a live theory since ancient Greece. And I noted that St, Augustine assumed it. Now I discover, thanks to TOF's blog, that St. Thomas also assumed it. The money quote from Summa Theologica:

Species, also, that are new, if any such appear, existed beforehand in various active powers; so that animals, and perhaps even new species of animals, are produced by putrefaction by the power which the stars and elements received at the beginning.

-- Summa Theologica, I.73.1 reply3

Aquinas differs from Darwin only in the mechanism, which he imagines to be "putrefaction." St. Thomas also argues nicely that evolution is the most fitting way for God to create: creating things that can themselves create other things is an intrinsically greater feat and greater good than just creating everything all at once.

The idea that there is some conflict between Christianity and evolution per se is plain wrong. The problem, for some, is with Darwin's proposed mechanism. These two issues ought not to be confused.

Catholic Ghosts

The Brown Lady: A distinguished English upper class country house ghost.

Interesting article here that outlines the Catholic position on ghosts. It turns out that it is perfectly orthodox for a Catholic to believe in ghosts—the apostles believed in ghosts, Shakespeare believed in ghosts, and so did Thomas Aquinas.

Makes sense to me. All cultures believe in ghosts, which makes it improbable that they are not real. Souls in purgatory may be given the power to communicate with the living in order to alert then to their plight. This only makes sense, since the living can help them through their prayer. Souls in heaven, too, must be free to communicate with the living as part of their blessed state. Surely this goes without saying. Heaven would not be heaven if we were separated from those we love, would it?

The Ghost of Lord Combermere.

Even souls in hell may be made visible to the living by God in order to serve as a warning.

And in addition to the souls of the dead, there are also demons about, of course. They too might appear as “ghosts.” Poltergeists, for example, seem more like demons than the souls of the dead.

Thomas Aquinas Tells a Joke

Via First Thoughts.