Creation and the Preambles of Faith

At times, Thomas Aquinas describes the relationship between reason and faith in terms of “preambles of faith,” conclusions about God (for example, that He exists) that are demonstrable by reason. The preambles serve as a kind of intellectual framework that helps us understand what is believed in faith and are themselves presupposed by faith. For Thomas, there are two related senses of creation, one philosophical, the other theological. Thomas thinks the philosophical sense — that is, the dependence of all that is on God as cause—can be known by reason alone. This is an example of a preamble of faith.