Aquinas on Avatars

Abstract

The article "Aquinas on Avatars" by Quentin Quesnell examines Saint Thomas Aquinas’s theological reflections on the possibility of multiple divine incarnations. Challenging traditional Christian exclusivism centered on Jesus, Quesnell highlights Aquinas’s assertion that any Divine Person could assume human nature and even that one Divine Person could incarnate in multiple, distinct human forms. Drawing from Summa Theologiae (STh III, 1–6), the article explores Aquinas's nuanced language of "assumption" and "union," his rejection of divine limitation, and his openness to theologically imagining multiple incarnations. While affirming the possibility, Aquinas remains hesitant about the universal incarnation of God in all humans. The article positions Aquinas as more open than commonly recognized to a broader metaphysical framework of divine embodiment.