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Final Exam Essay Questions

Question One

Bernard of Clairvaux considered the created natural world to have been formed by God and to be

made up of beings that point to and express His creative action. According to him, the natural

world was ordered in a perfect manner whereby each being, after it had been given the meaning

of existence was joined with all other beings thereby achieving completeness. His view was that

God, the creator of all beings, had purposed that all beings according to their characteristics take

part in Him. In the natural world, he differentiated the world of material beings from that of

spiritual beings.

He explained that all incorporeal beings depend on the world of material beings. Among

animal souls, Bernard emphasized that they perish after death because they cannot exist if not

connected with a body. On the other hand, human souls are dependent upon bodies. However,

after biological death has occurred, human souls continue to exist. He also stressed that the

created natural world does not constitute truth. However, they function as symbols of truth,

which human cognition can access through revelation from God. By joining moral self-

perfection and cognition processes, a person can obtain the truth in the natural world. He

emphasized that Christ is the way to knowing the truth.

Hildegard of Bingen considered all life to be flooded with God’s divine spirit given that

He is the one that formed all life. According to her, Creation existed prior to Man and therefore it
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could survive without him. It is mankind that needed God’s creation so as to live. Furthermore,

she noted that man was created to serve as the Creator’s steward and to glorify His work. Human

beings cannot exist without the rest of the created natural world and therefore have a

responsibility to take care of this world. The Web of life was one of her central themes in which

she illustrated the harmonious relationship that exists between the natural world and man. She

eventually became an expert in medicine, driven by her belief that according to Genesis, all

things had been created for the benefit of man. She therefore considered animals, herbs, precious

stones and even water to possess healing property.

Francis of Assisi personified nature, creating an intuitive sense of interdepend natural

web of life that has been verified by empirical science. He had a close relationship with nature,

and spoke to natural elements including wind, plant, fire, and water among others as though they

were a family. Francis insisted that all creation was good: he saw God in them; he was thankful

for them and praised the Creator through them. Moreover, he emphasized on God’s presence in

all created beings. He desired that individuals should celebrate the diversity of creation and give

glory to God for and with the same. More importantly, he wished that humans could conduct

themselves in ways that show respect to all creation. According to him, the purpose of all

creation was to guide human beings to God. He considered natural world to be holy given that it

was created by God

Question Two

Thomas Aquinas provided Christians with a unified perspective on several questions by

combining Aristotle’s science and philosophy with revealed truths in the religion of Christianity.

He esteemed Aristotelianism but did not regard it as being completely truthful and hence

managed to reconcile this philosophy with the truth contained in Christian revelation. Regarding
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reason and revelation, he noted that the two complement each other in search for truth. Divine

revelation does not contradict what has been discovered by men through their natural reason.

Instead of overturning it, revelation contributes to reason. Moreover, he noted that state and the

church represent twin authorities whereby each is supreme in its respective sphere. His view is

based on the perspective that man has both a spiritual soul and a body. He considered the church

to be social organization’s crown. Furthermore, he noted that state exists out of the will of God.

It should therefore aim at ensuring the common good by ensuring peace, harmonizing citizens’

activities, and providing necessary resources for survival and be subservient to the church in

accordance with this will.

Thomas Aquinas explained that natural theology and the nature of human beings are

products of the wisdom of God. Men are led by apprehension of eternal theology reproduced in

form of precepts and rules of behavior. Given that it is God who governs the universe, human

acts become praiseworthy only when they promote His purposes. On the other hand, revealed

theology is part of eternal law that has been revealed to man through Church dogma, Decalogue,

and Moses’ law in addition to the New and Old Testament. As opposed to natural theology,

revealed theology is a gift and therefore does not involve natural reason discovery. Regarding

theology and classical virtues, Aquinas recognized the limits of law in realizing virtuous citizens.

He noted that theology provided coercive force to authoritative direction but should neither

dictate application of all virtues nor outlaw every vice. True virtues, according to him, entails

applying one’s free will and reason to arrive at the right choice.

Aquinas advanced the theory of ethics as presented by Aristotle. Though both were of the

opinion that happiness depends on the purpose that a given individual has, he developed the idea

of supernatural end by noting that that the nature of humans does not represent its inherent
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achievement standards. Thus, he saw human perfection as being the output of two societies in

which one is concerned with transcendent good and the other with immanent good. Aquinas

considered human beings to be free and at the same time endowed with undisputable

responsibilities. It is in the liberty that he has that mankind was created in God’s image. He

considered a person to be more than just a mere individual because of his responsibilities, choice,

discernment, and freedom. More importantly, Aquinas viewed mankind to be independent of all

other species. Thus, human are free because they are responsible and can choose and reflect.

Consequently, human acts involve combination of knowledge, reason, and will. In distinguishing

between human acts and acts of man, he identified the ability and liberty of man to pay attention

to relevant factors and arrive at given judgment.

Furthermore, he noted that government agents were limited in their function due to laws

of human nature that result from creation. Thus, positive laws should be just and be a

consequence of natural law’s principles. Those that are not consistent with the nature of man

should be overturned. On the other hand, human laws must be put in place to safeguard an

ordered society.