The Traveling Church

January 5. Creation: A Devotion in 10 days

January 5, 2023
written by: Eric Scites

Day 2-Genesis 1:7-8 Sky and Sea

He builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the Lord is his name.
Amos 9:6

Reading: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made and by the breath of His mouth all the hosts.
Psalm 33:6 

St. Thomas Aquinas is best known for his philosophic writings and even though he was writing 800 years ago his works-some 60 known published-are still so revered that they became the ‘official’ philosophy of the Catholic Church in 1917.

Probably his greatest work-in the light of scholastic works-was his ‘Summa Theologica’ (the Sum of Theology) written between AD 1265 and 1274. In it he will write some 3,122 articles on doctrinal matters, divided up into 3 thematic categories: God, Man and Christ. In his section on God he outlined ‘The Argument from Design’.

In it, Aquinas will argue that because all things have an arrangement that leads to a particular goal. Therefore since they all work the same the oder of the universe cannot be by chance but design and purpose are at play. And since design and purpose need directing on the PART of the designer, this designer must have divine intelligence. He surmises then that this ‘divine intelligence’ is God. And the invitation then becomes: do we need to have a vast knowledge to understand these ‘creation’ events, or is the simple act of watching a flower grow and bloom enough?

Scriptural Concepts:
Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
I Corinthians 8:6


O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Psalm 8:1-2

Prayer:

    Leave a Reply
    Copyright ©2022 Parson John Living History, Inc.
    a 501(c)3 nonprofit. EIN: 27-0588699