One-Minute Aquinas Author: Visit Amazon's Kevin Vost Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1622821580 | Format: EPUB
One-Minute Aquinas Description
Review
Most modern readers never discover Aquinas because they are put off by the sheer bulk of his writings. Kevin Vost has done such readers a favor by serving up the sain't arguments in bite-sized chunks that anyone can digest. --
Karl Keating
President of Catholic AnswersIt takes the reader by the hand, step by step, from confusion to clarity, from chaos to order, and from our simplest beginning, our search for happiness, to our final end, eternal union with God. You don't need a philosophy degree or an I.Q. of 165 to profit from this book. You need only an open mind and an honest, searching heart. --
Peter Kreeft
Author of Summa of the Summa and Professor of Philosophy, Boston CollegeFor clarity choose Aquinas. For clarity on Aquinas choose Kevin Vost. Ideal for anyone who wants to cut through the silly sentimentality of modern religion and work up a brain sweat with some sound and serious thinking. --
Fr. Dwight LongeneckerAbout the Author
Kevin Vost, Psy. D. (b. 1961) has taught psychology at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College, and MacMurray College. He has also been a Research Review Committee Member for American Mensa, which promotes the scientific study of human intelligence.
- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Sophia Institute Press (January 15, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1622821580
- ISBN-13: 978-1622821587
- Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
I have read four other books by Dr. Vost - Memorize the Faith, Unearthing Your Ten Talents, From Atheism to Catholicism, and Fit for Eternal Life. One Minute Aquinas is his best work yet. Among all of the books I have read seeking to provide a lay person's introduction to Aquinas, this one is the most accessible.
Anyone who has attempted to read Aquinas, especially the Summa Theologica (his "introduction" to theology) can attest to the difficulty. Aquinas is brilliant, and the subjects he traverses are often very abstract (such as delving deeply into the mystery of the Trinity). Add to that philosophical language that has very precise meanings that are often unknown to non-philosophers...and most people give up on the Summa. I have managed to preserver with the help of guides like Pieper, Garrigou-Lagrange, Feser, and even notes from a seminary course on St. Thomas's thought. I wish I could have started with "One Minute Aquinas" first and then progressed to these works.
Vost does a masterful job of giving a 30,000 foot view of the Summa in less than 300 pages. He explains in laymen's terms some of the key concepts that St. Thomas discusses in the Summa, taking us on a lightning tour of all three parts. He consistently references the Summa throughout the book, which is very helpful when you want to go back to the Summa and compare the original work against Vost's explanations.
In One-Minute Aquinas, Dr. Vost has done much to introduce a new generation of truth seekers to the Angelic Doctor. I hope he will someday consider a sequel that delves even further into the thought of St. Thomas, especially what Thomas wrote in part 1 about the nature of God, which can be some of the most challenging material.
As I write this review, I am charged with trying to find new ways and enticing words to describe the work of Kevin Vost. Having had the pleasure of offering endorsements for his work (St. Albert the Great), writing reviews for his numerous titles (such as Memorize the Reasons), and having published the wholly unique, daily devotional he wrote with Peggy Bowes and Shane Kapler (Tending the Temple), I realize that I am forced to repeat myself and go with this tried and true summary: Vost is a brilliant author. Everything he writes is witty and shaped by his intelligence and insight.
The One-Minute Aquinas is no exception.
In fact, as I thumb through it, it occurs to me that this book is actually way more fun that any non-fiction book ought to be! But that's Kevin: a man who walks the talk and shares it with all in an inviting, warm way. If anyone is going to convert lost souls, it will be Kevin through his work as an author. He is intelligent without being brash; he is a gift to those of us who wish to know the likes of an Aquinas because Vost can present the works of such a thinker in a way that you and I get it without bringing it down a level.
As I read this book it becomes apparent that what Vost does--and what is so incredibly evident in this excellent book--is raises us, the readers, up to a level that we did not know we could achieve.
The One-Minute Aquinas is made up of three parts: How Can We Be Happy--on Earth and in Heaven?; God; and, Who Is Christ? Each part is made up of chapters wherein Vost uses questions you and I have (or should have) and then uses Summa Theologica to answer but in a way that is much clearer than you or I will remember from our own efforts to tackle the work.
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