He Who Is: A Study in Traditional Theism

by E.L. Mascall, Robert MacSwain (foreword)

E. L. Mascall, in his introduction to the 1966 edition of He Who Is, writes that “one of its main purposes” is to “to argue that the real function of the famous Five Ways of St. Thomas Aquinas was not to provide five independent arguments for the existence of God from finite beings, but to manifest by five different expositions the character of finite beings as radically dependent on a transcendent, self-existent infinite being.” Subjects discussed along the way include creation, mysticism, the relation between reason and revelation, the doctrine of analogy and the non-Christian religions; and an attempt is made to find the true status of religious experience as an element in rational theism.

This Angelico Press edition contains a new foreword by The Rev. Dr. Robert MacSwain, who writes that “I can think of at least three reasons why He Who Is should still be read by a new generation of theological students. First, despite its age, it remains a substantial contribution to the study of Thomism. Second, its primary themes of the existence and nature of God are of perennial and vital interest. Third, it exemplifies the ecumenical endeavor that was at the heart of Eric Mascall’s life and work, namely, that of an Anglican theologian seeking to learn not only from members of his own communion but from Roman Catholic and Protestant thinkers and from the Orthodox tradition as well.”

Genres: Philosophy, Theology

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Eric Lionel Mascall, OGS (12 December 1905 – 14 February 1993) was an Anglo-Catholic priest and theologian and Thomist. He was Professor of Historical Theology at King's College London.

Reviews

[Matt Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exemplary metaphysics in the Thomist tradition

[Squolle]

Dieses Buch ist der Versuch, Thomas von Aquin ins 20 Jh. zu holen. Ich denke Mascall ist das gelungen.
Für meinen ersten ernsthaften Kontakt mit Metaphysik, fand ich das Buch erstaunlich produktiv und verständlich. Ich habe Metaphysik immer als überwunden angesehen. Vielleicht muss ich das überdenken.

[Robert Tessmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and concise treatment of traditional Christian metaphysics produced by a scholar of Thomas Aquinas. Recommended by David Bentley Hart author of The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss.

[Ooniemme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and clear exposition of traditional theism. The style is dated because of the book's age, so what was more simple then is more difficult now - but I still found it understandable and engaging. I particularly enjoyed his analysis of Whitehead's process theism, though of course it was very broad-strokes.

[Ali Razvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This source reveals the Five Ways of proving God's existence as systematized by Aquinas. While these proofs have been "disproven," in the sense that they are not conclusive of a personal God, they still remain helpful supplements to our faith. All the proofs center around the idea that "the greater does arise from the lesser." The first half of the book is the most useful.