Is Summa Theologica worth reading.

[Quintus Ennius]

is it really that great of a book? Or is it just overrated? I'm planning to read it over Christmas break. I just want to have some opinions on it before I start. I always finish a book, no matter what and this book is pretty long. I'm not very religious, so I'm trying to learn a bit more about Christianity in particular.

[BlackCat]

is it really that great of a book? Or is it just overrated? I'm planning to read it over Christmas break. I just want to have some opinions on it before I start. I always finish a book, no matter what and this book is pretty long. I'm not very religious, so I'm trying to learn a bit more about Christianity in particular.

It's a great work of literature considering it contains maybe the essence of the Christian faith itself and showing how Western Philosophy is expressed through such Eastern religion. It is noted though that this work shouldn't be read like a normal book but it works like a catechism with articles addressing several problems. To me this is a hard read because it deal with intricate philosophical and theological concepts. But overall it's a worthread

[chrisvia]

To directly answer the title of your thread: yes.

[PeterL]

Not unless you are theologian.

[mal4mac]

Why do you always finish a book?

[Quintus Ennius]

Because I have to know what the ending is, that is why I always finish a book. That's why I try to get more feedback on a book before I start it. I won't start and stop a book, ever.

[cafolini]

Because I have to know what the ending is, that is why I always finish a book. That's why I try to get more feedback on a book before I start it. I won't start and stop a book, ever.

You don't have to eat the whole breakfast once you realize that the eggs are rotten. It's not healthy.

[Charles Darnay]

Reading the Summa to find out of the ending is like reading the Dictionary for that purpose....spoiler alert: God did it. Nonetheless, as I have mentioned in the other Aquinas thread that is going around - it is worth a read if you have any interest in Western history/philosophy or theology.

[cafolini]

Reading the Summa to find out of the ending is like reading the Dictionary for that purpose....spoiler alert: God did it. Nonetheless, as I have mentioned in the other Aquinas thread that is going around - it is worth a read if you have any interest in Western history/philosophy or theology.

Not to deal with Aquinas for those purposes would be like omitting an extremely important chapter of history in the decadence of the Roman Catholics. It probably would be as disastrous for a clear historical perspective as not to know anything about Averroes, or even the trial of Galileo and Cardinal Bellarmino.

[Quintus Ennius]

You don't have to eat the whole breakfast once you realize that the eggs are rotten. It's not healthy.

I actually try to find out more about a book before I read it. I don't just pick a random book and finish it, I'm a bit more selective than that.

[BlackCat]

You don't have to eat the whole breakfast once you realize that the eggs are rotten. It's not healthy.

Suppose if the egg isn't rotten, then you just left out the most important meal of the day

[Ragnar Freund]

gone.

[cafolini]

That's the second thread in which you use that childish aphorism. Sounds like a good excuse for those who give up too easily, or can't deal with arguments with which they don't already agree.

Looks like I'm doing well. I have enough opposition to not eating rotten eggs. How could it be otherwise before moving on to the most sensical and meaningful. Excuse me.

[Ragnar Freund]

gone.

[cafolini]

Your writing is so bad that I could hardly understand what you wrote. By the time I got the gist, I regretted making the effort. I won't make that mistake again.

Well, then, you mean that I convinced you not to eat the whole breakfast when you taste rotten eggs? The least you could do is not to make that mistake again. Glad to be of help. You have been slow to detect bad writing.

[YesNo]

I downloaded a free kindle version, part 1, because of ideas in another thread and the first section was readable and interesting. I doubt if I'll finish it, however. All I'm interested in is getting an idea what it is about.

[Climacus]

is it really that great of a book? Or is it just overrated? I'm planning to read it over Christmas break. I just want to have some opinions on it before I start. I always finish a book, no matter what and this book is pretty long. I'm not very religious, so I'm trying to learn a bit more about Christianity in particular.

Yes, definitely. Read it. The Summa is a little easier than the Contra Gentiles, but you'll need a grounding in classical logic. And you're going to have a heck of a time finishing it over Christmas break. You'd better be a speed-reader.

[Quintus Ennius]

Yes, definitely. Read it. The Summa is a little easier than the Contra Gentiles, but you'll need a grounding in classical logic. And you're going to have a heck of a time finishing it over Christmas break. You'd better be a speed-reader.

It's a good thing all I do is read, which I assume will be my plan over the break. Would this be a good book to take notes on or would it be a hassle because I could take notes on a lot of things?

[Climacus]

It's a good thing all I do is read, which I assume will be my plan over the break. Would this be a good book to take notes on or would it be a hassle because I could take notes on a lot of things?

Well, it's always good to take notes with difficult academically-orientated works, I think. But note-taking is so tedious. :cryin: I didn't take notes. Just too daunting.

You might want to start with some introductory book on Aquinas. (There are certainly a lot of them nowadays.) That's more or less what I did. I worked my way though Copleston's history of philosophy before tackling any of the primary scholastic sources.