theology, as Aquinas understands theology. Remember that philosophy offers various services to the theologian. These include proving certain preliminary points, which could certainly include the existence of God. But philosophy can also help us to understand things we already accept on the basis of faith, and you can be sure that these would most definitely include the existence of God. So it may be better to think of the five ways as offering the theologians a set of rational approaches for thinking about God, even if they are also intended to work as proofs.
