Research on Human Beings in Thomas Aquinas is Conducted according to the Idea of “Participation”

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Religions and Mysticism, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The biblical account of the creation event indicates that God has created man in His image to be like Him. This account closely connects two realms of divinity and humanity: one (man) and the likeness of the other (God). Given that in Christian theology, the doctrine of original sin is considered to mean the gap between God and human beings, the way to restore this relationship and how it is possible (salvation) has been discussed from many aspects. Aquinas presents the existence and likeness of man to God from the perspective of the concept of "participation". He believes that man's being is based on participation in the divine existence. Man's participatory being is, in fact, participation in the divine good (first activity). And man's primary goal is to attempt to actualize this potential good in himself. Man's downward arc is participation in the divine existence (creation), and his upward arc is becoming an operational instrument of God in nature (continuation of participation). He is in the process of perfection, actualizing his existential goal and becoming the "image of God". This article examines the human condition and its sub-topics, such as "evil", "faith", and "salvation", from Aquinas's perspective of the concept of participation.

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