The second arguing point is that the act of fornication in some way injures God. St. Thomas Aquinas brushes this one aside very quickly, "For we do not offend God except by doing something contrary to our own good, as has been said. But this does not appear contrary to man's good. Hence, on this basis, no injury seems to be done to God." (Hunt, et. al., 391) This would have certainly angered some theologians of the time but St. Thomas Aquinas was trying to rely on traditional principals of faith, God is a divine being and can suffer no physical harm by fornication. The third point addresses the harm fornication could possibly do to ones neighbors, this point is quickly brushed aside as well. How can your neighbors be scandalized by something which is not a sin. These first three points were easily dispatched by St. Thomas Aquinas and he offered very little in the line of explanation because no physical harm can come from consensual sex between unmarried men and women. .
The remaining three rebuttals are more adequately supported because St. Thomas Aquinas is providing more of an argument because these points will be the ones most scrutinized. St. Thomas Aquinas begins point four with "God exercises care over every person on the basis of what is good for him. Now, it is good for each person to attain his end, whereas it is bad for him to swerve away from his proper end. Now, this should be considered applicable to the parts, just as it is to the whole being; for instance, each and every part of man, and every part of his acts, should attain the proper end. Now, though the male semen is superfluous in regard to the preservation of the individual, it is nevertheless necessary in regard to the propagation of the species." (Hunt, et. al., 391) Now this alone would be a very weak argument which is why St. Thomas Aquinas added the following to support his statement; "But man's generative process would be frustrated unless it were followed by proper nutrition, because the offspring would not survive if proper nutrition were withheld.
