How to Think Like a Thomist: The Real Distinction

If everything in this world that we experience receives its existence from another, then it can only be explained with reference to the others that cause it to be. Now, regardless of how far back along this causal chain you pass the buck, you cannot have an actual infinite series of these causes. There has to be some being giving existence to everything; this, all men call God. For, by contrast with everything else that we encounter, existence is proper to the very essence of God, so God exists essentially and has no cause. For everything else, though, there is a real distinction between essence and existence. In this video, you’ll learn about how God and creatures differ in their very being.

This Aquinas 101 video is a production of the Thomistic Institute. Check out supplemental readings and podcasts here.

Come back each week as we will continue to release videos in this series called “How to think like a Thomist.”

Image Credit: World History Encyclopedia