Summa Theologica - 01 Pars Prima, Initial Questions
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Read by Jim Ruddy
The Summa Theologica (or the Summa Theologiae or simply the Summa, written 1265–1274) is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of that time. It summarizes the reasonings for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, which, before the Protestant Reformation, subsisted solely in the Roman Catholic Church. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God, God's creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God. (Summary adapted from the Wikipedia)
This is part one of six parts of the Pars Prima, consisting of the Initial Questions. (0 hr 44 min)
Chapters
Reviews
Excellent
A LibriVox Listener
The reader does a wonderful job. Very easy to follow. He uses different voices for the Objections and Contrary sections, that help you to know Aquinas' thoughts. Pleasant voice. And, it goes without saying, that Thomas Aquinas is a joy to listen to. Thanks for the wonderful audio recording!
great reader
Smart Cookie
the snobby voices he does for the objections cracks me up!!!
Question 13 it cuts off
Kenosis
Fantastic book and great listen. However on Question 13 it cuts off one sentence into Article 7 of 12 articles. I think this happens in a few other questions as well.
thanks
Maria
well read,a bit theatrical though, but it's not a small challenge to read Thomas Aquinas
Profound
Mr. Bill
I never knew that Aquinas was so profound. He dealt with issues with which we still wrestle today and with many that we should. The reader does a good job of differentiating between "speakers" with very few mispronunciations.
Tough Book
Purifier
I like how the voice changes and seems to indicate a heretic is raising the objections. Sometimes I think Thomas Aquinas is crazy though.
A LibriVox Listener
very helpful way to get through the summa. It's best if you have text to read along with so you do not get lost in thought and miss something.
Saint Thomas would be appalled.
Donald R Miller
The reader alternates between doing a very good job to do an extremely bad (and annoying) one. When he reads the answers, he does a fine job. But he reads the questions as if it is being asked by someone incredibly stupid. Indeed when I first heard it, I caught only the questions part and thought it was a blasphemer mocking Aquinas. I wondered why anyone would spend all that time and effort to do that. I suppose the reason the reader does this is because he wants to stack the deck, that is to say someone who isn't a believer is profoundly stupid. It doesn't work, AT ALL. Aquinas wrote a work that is intended to be a serious document. It's ruined by this very bad decision on the reader's part. I find it unlistenable for that reason. If only he had read the entire work with the same gravitous. :(