The Art of Thoroughness

I love Aquinas. I read and cited some of his works in my major paper last semester and he was quite helpful to my "big question" regarding the nature of suffering. What I love about Aquinas is his complete thoroughness. When he makes a point, he will give you every angle, every possibility, every aspect of that particular point so that the reader can have no doubt that the man's content is credible.

I found this not only with the reading assigned. As I perused the rest of "The Summa Theologica" I found the general structure of his arguments to be the same. Using phrases and titles like "Objection 1," "I answer that," "Reply to Objection," and "On the Contrary" not only gives order and structure to his point, it tells the reader that he is not afraid to bring up every possibility.

Many times we see him begin a particular section with a claim, then he will refute or qualify that claim toward the end as he argues the endless possibilities. His thoroughness shows his fearlessness in the face of a questioning world. His thoroughness shows the real complexity behind truths that we often regard as simple. His thoroughness reveals the endless and satisfying Answer to every question..."and this being we call God." This is why I love Aquinas.

P.S. I commented on Collin's post.