Welcome to Aquinas and Beyond!
Hi! My name is Alex Spieldenner. I am a Catholic Theology teacher with a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville. I started this site to help you learn to think, read and write like a Catholic.
Beginning to learn about the Catholic intellectual tradition can sometimes feel like beginning a hike up Mount Everest. After 2000 years of thinking, writing, arguing and debating in the Church, there is a lot to learn. Aquinas and Beyond exists to help you begin your journey into the Catholic tradition.
So, who is this for? Primarily, it is for people who just want to learn more about how the Catholic world thinks about philosophy, theology, art, literature, and more. If you’ve read Scott Hahn and are not sure where to go from there, this is for you. If you have tried to read Aquinas but want Catholic thought in plain English, this is for you. If the idea of owning a Catholic library is exciting but the idea of understanding it all is overwhelming, this is for you. And if you want to study for the purposes of becoming a saint, this site is for you.
Regardless of who you are, here is what I have to offer on this site:
Free Resources
These are for everybody. Enjoy!
Free Catholic Thought: This will be my flagship newsletter. Once a month, I will send out two or three scholarly articles of theology or philosophy of interest to Catholics. I’ll also give my first thoughts on the argument and whether the articles work. Moreover, they will always be free: the articles I send out will always come from open-source journals, meaning you can enjoy this without being attached to a University or having lots of money to spend on academic articles.
My Blog: When I have thoughts of my own to share about a particular thinker or topic, this is where they will be.
A “Free Resources” Page: I am keeping a page with links to as many free, legal Catholic resources as I can find right here on Aquinas and Beyond.
Paid Resources
I will have plenty of resources available for a small fee. AND you’ll get the satisfaction of supporting a Catholic teacher, husband, and father. Benefits paid patrons receive include:
Premium Blog Posts: Some of my posts (the really good ones, of course) will only be available to paid subscribers.
Reader’s Guides: An introduction to some great texts in the Catholic intellectual tradition. This will include some great canonical texts, like Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy or John Henry Newman’s Grammar of Assent, as well as some more recent or obscure (while still important) works, like Etienne Gilson’s The Unity of Philosophical Experience. My goal with these is that you would understand a) why the text is important and b) the most crucial ideas of the text. But mostly, I want to make sure they are engaging and interesting, because understanding these books can change your life.
And more to come!
