: Natural-Theology:

The first great proponent of a natural theology distinguishable from revealed theology was Saint Thomas Aquinas, the synthesizer of Greek philosophy and the gospel, who also laid the groundwork for notions of Natural Law, the ethical equivalent of natural theology. Aquinas defined theology as a "science" in the Aristotelian sense, that is, a definable body of knowledge with its own sources, principles, methods, and content, and he insisted that beyond the truths derived from the study of Scripture there was another body of compatible truths based upon the application of reason to the created world. He supported this, as nearly all Catholics have, with reference to Rom. 1:20-21 and to the actual accomplishments of pagan philosophers, especially Aristotle.