In the Summa theologiae, Thomas Aquinas' usage of the phrases libero, libertas, and liberum arbitrium provides us with a plethora of information regarding free will and freedom. Humans have free will and are masters of themselves as a result of it. Obstacles and ignorance can stymie free will, yet it always leads to God. Our freedom, according to Servais Pinckaers, can be either indifference (the morality of obligation) or excellence (the morality of choice) (the morality of happiness). The distinction is between free will that moves reason and reason that moves free will. The power to choose between good and evil is the freedom of indifference. The will is drawn to neither and chooses freely between them. The power to be the finest human being we can be comes from having the freedom to strive for perfection. The rules, or what it takes to be a good human being, serve as the foundation for freedom here. Anyone who follows these standards has the opportunity to excel. Intellect and will, according to Aquinas, have dominion over free will. This is true liberty, and Aquinas and Pinckaers agree on this. We don't have the freedom to be indifferent; we have the freedom to excel. Anything else enslaves us.
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What is the meaning of spiritual freedom?
How the natural and spiritual realms operate so differently is one of life's most profound mysteries. Spiritual liberty in God is the ultimate freedom, and it can only be attained when a person abandons their carnal nature and accepts Christ to be Lord and Master of their lives.
What is spiritual freedom in philosophy?
Spiritual freedom is living according to one's “talents,” or God's gifts. The greatest rule for those who are guided by the Spirit is: “How should I make a return to the Lord for all the benefits he has done for me?” The Christian accepts everything as a gift from God and celebrates God by making everything a means of unselfish love for God and neighbor through the Holy Spirit's grace and perfect obedience to this grace.
The crucifixion of one's lower nature with its passions and appetites, then, is the condition and effect of spiritual freedom (Gal 5.24). However, when a Christian is united with the Paschal Mystery, it fundamentally signifies joy and serenity (Gal 5.22). This joy, along with the other fruits of the Spirit, gives one the strength to overcome the behavior that is inherent to his lower selfishness in order to obey Christ's commandment. The evangelical law stated in the Sermon on the Mount and the Farewell Discourse reveals itself through a way of thinking and acting that corresponds to spiritual freedom. Only those who allow the Spirit of Christ to lead them can love one another as Christ has loved them. Fraternal love's demands do not limit one's spiritual freedom; rather, they expand it. When such self-denial enhances the bonds of unity and contributes to the salvation of one's neighbor, it is precisely this spiritual freedom that causes the disciple of Christ to reject some actions not prohibited by a general law. “For none of us lives for ourselves, and none of us dies for ourselves” (Rom 14.7). Man becomes more spiritual, more like Christ, and thus more free as a result of his constant openness to others and caring for others.
Spiritual freedom is opposed by both a meaningless accumulation of external precepts and slavish and mechanical adherence, as both stifle spiritual energy and prevent constant watchfulness for the true needs of one's neighbor and community. Spiritual freedom, on the other hand, does not imply lawlessness. It brings one closer to Christ, causing one to bear the burdens of others in the spirit of Christ. It assists one in properly submitting to the laws of the Church and society, while integrating everything in a spirit of unity.
How St Thomas Aquinas looks at freedom and law?
All of Aquinas' reflections on morality and practical reason are grouped under the category of “mastery over one's own acts,” which he sees as a reality as primal, metaphysically and conceptually irreducible as the reality of physical laws (ST I-II, prologue).
What do you mean by spirituality?
Spirituality is defined as the awareness of a feeling, sense, or belief that there is something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater total of which we are a part is cosmic or divine in nature.
What is freedom according to St Augustine?
St. Augustine distinguishes between two types of liberty, one of which has been experienced by all human beings since the fall and the other of which is enjoyed by the blessed in paradise.
What did St Thomas Aquinas believe in?
The existence of God, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas, could be demonstrated in five ways: 1) observing movement in the world as proof of God, the “Immovable Mover”; 2) observing cause and effect and identifying God as the cause of everything; 3) concluding that the impermanent nature of beings proves the existence of a necessary being, God, who originates only from within himself; 4) observing varying levels of human perfection and determining that a supreme Following his defense of people's innate ability to see proof of God, Thomas took on the task of defending God's image as an all-powerful deity.
In addition, Saint Thomas Aquinas addressed the issue of right social behavior toward God in a unique way. He gave his thoughts a contemporary—some might say timeless—everyday context in this way. Thomas felt that state laws were a natural outgrowth of human nature and that they were essential to social wellbeing. People could gain eternal redemption of their souls in the hereafter by complying by the state's social regulations, he claimed. Natural, positive, and eternal rules were identified by Saint Thomas Aquinas. Natural law, according to his treatise, prompts man to act in accordance with his goals and governs man's sense of right and wrong; positive law is the law of the state, or government, and should always be a manifestation of natural law; and eternal law, in the case of rational beings, is based on reason and is put into action through free will, which also works toward man's spiritual goals.