Thomas Aquinas was an influential Dominican friar, theologian and philosopher who lived from 1225 to 1274 AD Thomas Aquinas was born in a town called Roccasecca in Italy. Since Aquinas followed the scholastic tradition, he obtained knowledge through dialectical reasoning. After studying both Aristotelian and Neoplatonism, Thomas adopted his own theology. Aquinas' basic theology was the compatibility of faith and reason in proving the existence of God. Thomas Aquinas wrote several works and specifically with his theology in mind he wrote the Summa Theologica and the Summa contra Gentiles. Aquinas's early education was received from the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Montecassino. After military oppression took over the Abbey City, he continued his studies at the University of Naples. At university he became acquainted with the philosophy of Aristotle and the recently established Dominican order, which he joined without his family's approval. The family of Thomas Aquinas was strongly against his desire to join the Dominican order in Rome, to the point that they held him “hostage” for two years in their o...