Course of Theology - Volume Three I - João Poinsot

This third volume (Part I) of John of St. Thomas’s Course of Theology continues his systematic exposition of Thomistic theology within the mature scholastic tradition of Thomas Aquinas. It marks a transition from the treatment of God in Himself to the study of God as Creator and the order of creation.

The work typically opens with the doctrine of divine causality, explaining how all created being depends on God as first cause both in its coming-to-be and its continued existence. John of St. Thomas carefully develops the distinction between creation, conservation, and concurrence, showing how divine action is present in every level of reality without compromising creaturely causality.

A substantial portion is devoted to the doctrine of creation ex nihilo, emphasizing the absolute dependence of creatures on God and the contingency of the entire created order. He also examines the divine ideas as archetypes according to which all things are ordered and intelligible in God’s intellect.

Throughout the volume, Poinsot maintains a rigorous scholastic structure, uniting metaphysical principles with theological doctrine. The result is a carefully reasoned account of creation that bridges the study of God’s inner life (treated earlier) with the unfolding of the created universe.