Here, Dr. Kevin Vost provides you with 12 essential life lessons, culled from the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Together these lessons will elevate your mind, enrich your spirit, and teach you how to participate fully in the universal vocation to holiness and happiness. Distilling Thomas's timeless and unparalleled spiritual wisdom, Vost shows you: The things you must believe, know, and desire in order to be saved (and how to thoroughly attend to these in your daily life) Why you must be religious and not merely spiritual How sloth in particular can blind you to the highest meaning of life (and which virtues supply the antidote) The surprising and dreadful effects of wrath in your life How to recognize injustices you may be committing dailyand how to train yourself to fight those impulses How to free yourself from the crushing yoke of envy How and why you should be your own best friend Which virtues you need so you can hate the sin while loving the sinner Why you should care about angels What you need to know about the saints in order to become one These 12 Life Lessons from St. Thomas Aquinas will help you cultivate a rich, robust faith life that will bring you into closer communion with God and beckon others to follow. With the help of Vost and Thomas, you'll soon find yourself confidently and happily living in imitation of Our Lord, the Way, the Truth, and the Life for all men.

If Saint Thomas Aquinas was a great theologian, it is in no small part because he was a great philosopher. And he was a great philosopher because he was a great metaphysician. In the twentieth century, metaphysics was not much in vogue, among eithertheologians or even philosophers; but now it is making a comeback, and once the contours of Thomas's metaphysical vision are glimpsed, it looks like anything but a museum piece. It only needs some dusting off. Many are studying Thomas now for the answers that he might be able to give to current questions, but he is perhaps even more interesting for the questions that he can raise regarding current answers: about the physical world, about human life and knowledge, and (needless to say) about God. This book is aimed at helping those who are not experts in medieval thought to begin to enter into Thomas's philosophical point of view. Along the way, it brings out some aspects of his thought that are not often emphasised in the current literature, and it offers a reading of his teaching on the divine nature that goes rather against the drift of some prominent recent interpretations.

Chesterton's customary wit and engaging storytelling provide a brief but vivid profile. He focuses on the saint's life, rather than on theology, to illustrate Thomas's relevance to modern readers.

For some atheists, it's enough to simply not believe in God. Some people believe, but you don't. And that's OK.Other atheists, however, find themselves constantly being asked to justify why they don't believe in God, to explain how they can possibly have morals without believing in God, to respond to various arguments that supposedly prove the existence of God, to acknowledge that America was founded as a "Christian" nation, etc. And if you don't have a background in philosophy, formal logic, comparative religions, ancient history, and various scientific fields, it can be a bit daunting to attempt to respond to questions and assertions like these.Well, fear not! "Common Sense Atheism" is a collection of original essays that address these issues and many others in clear and easy to understand language, with just a dollop of humor to make it all go down smoothly. These essays will help you understand and explain to others why a lack of belief in God really is the only rational choice.After all, you shouldn't need a PhD to defend your lack of belief.