Summa Theologica - Part I Q1, The Nature and Extent of Sacred Doctrine

Q1 - The Nature and Extent of Sacred Doctrine

This is the Opening Prologue and First Question of the Summa Theologica, an extensive introduction to Theology by St. Thomas Aquainas for beginners. The "Summa" covers about 500 topics over 5,000 pages, and has three main parts: About the Divine, About Humanity, and about Christ.

As the very first topic Aquinas poses the question: Is it really necessary with anything beyond Rational Philosophy, and the works like Metaphysics by Aristotle? Should we try to reach beyond the limitations of Reason at all?

The Summa Theologica (or the Summa Theologiae or simply the Summa, written 1265–1274) is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of that time. It summarizes the reasonings for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, which, before the Protestant Reformation, subsisted solely in the Roman Catholic Church. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God, God's creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God.

This is the beginning of part one of the Pars Prima, consisting of the Initial Question [Q1].