Name: ________________________________
Date: _____________
Theology 3 Quiz: Thomas Aquinas and Scholastic Philosophy
1. What is Anselm’s ontological argument for the
existence of God?
A. The sentence, “God does not exist” is selfcontradictory, because God could not be the Most Perfect
Being possible if He did not exist. The more perfect
something is, the more real it is.
B. The sentence, “God does not exist” is selfcontradictory, because observing the natural world shows
us the actions of a Designer who created it.
C. The sentence, “God does not exist,” is true, but only a
fool dares to utter it aloud. Since Anselm is not a fool, he
cannot make this argument.
D. The sentence, “God does not exist,” is proof of
heresy, and those who dare to utter it should be
excommunicated and publicly condemned by the Church.
2. Aquinas begins his proof of God’s existence by
listing reasons why people would argue that God does not
exist. What is the first reason he lists?
A. Because there must be a Prime Mover who created
the universe
B. Because two opposites cannot both exist if one of
them is infinite. Since evil exists, there cannot be such a
thing as Infinite Goodness. Therefore, God does not
exist.
C. Because two opposites cancel one another out, God’s
existence has been cancelled out by the existence of
Satan. Therefore, God no longer exists.
D. Because there cannot be a Prime Mover without a
First Cause, God must not exist.
3. Aquinas begins his proof of God’s existence by
listing reasons why people would argue that God does not
exist. What is the second reason he lists?
A. Because you do not need to bring in additional
explanations for something once you have a complete
explanation. Since we know that Nature explains
everything we observe in the world, we do not need the
additional explanation of God.
B. Because you need infinitely many explanations for
something in order to prove that it is true, God cannot
exist, since He would require other explanations of how
He created the universe.
C. Because you cannot explain everything as God’s
work, you cannot prove his existence. Therefore, God
must not have created the world.
D. Because God was created by Nature, his existence
depends upon the natural world. Since a spiritual being
cannot be created by the natural world, God must not
exist.
4. What is the name for the principle that the simplest
explanation is the best?
A. Newton’s Law
B. Hardison’s Theorem
C. Aristotle’s Cause
D. Occam’s Razor
5. What is the difference between potentiality and
actuality, according to Aquinas?
A. Potentiality is the power that each man has to understand God;
actuality is each man’s choices.
B. Potentiality is the belief that we have an ability; actuality is the
test of whether we truly can do something.
C. Potentiality is the possibility that something could happen;
actuality is when that possibility happens.
D. Potentiality is the state of being at rest; actuality is the state of
causing another person to act.
6. Aquinas argues, “Nothing can be moved from potentiality to
actuality except by something in a state of actuality.” What does he
mean?
A. Nothing can be changed to a new state of action unless it is
acted upon by something else already in that state.
B. Nothing can be moved from one level to the next unless it is
changed by potential movers.
C. Nothing can change a potential to an act except God.
D. Nature changes actions to potentiality, and God changes
potentiality to actions.
7. Aquinas gives an example of his Argument from Motion that
involves fire. What is this example?
A. Something cannot be changed from potentiality to actuality, just
as fire cannot be changed to wood.
B. Something cannot change from actuality to potentiality, just as
wood cannot cause something else to catch fire.
C. Something cannot cause motion in an object that is not alive,
just as fire cannot cause dead wood to come alive.
D. Something cannot cause itself to change, just as wood cannot
cause itself to become hot.
8. In his first argument, Aquinas draws upon which concept from
Greco-Roman philosophy?
A. Aristotle’s idea of eudaemonia
B. Plato’s myth of the cave
C. Aristotle’s idea of the Prime Mover
D. Plato’s idea of the Forms
9. Aquinas’ first argument can best be summed up as an answer to
which of the following questions?
A. How did the Big Bang lead to the creation of the Earth?
B. Why is there a chain of causes at all, instead of just a potential
world?
C. Why is there something instead of nothing?
D. How old is our universe?
10. What is the difference between Aquinas’ first and second
proofs?
A. The first proof relies on observations about the physical world,
while the second proof is based entirely on one’s own thought
processes.
B. The first proof draws upon Aristotle’s ideas, while the second
proof is Aquinas’ unique contribution to the world of philosophy.
C. The first proof explains why there is a physical universe, while
the second proof explains why humans have the desire to worship
God.
D. The first proof explains why the physical world is in a state of
constant change; the second explains why there is a physical world
at all instead of nothingness.