Augustine Flashcards
What were augustines viesw on women
- Augustine thought differently about women compared to other writers at the time
- He rejected the view that women were more evil or weaker than men due to the actions of Eve
- He said due to both men and women being born in the image of God they both share equally in this image and both have a rational nature that is capable of forming a loving relationship with him
- He argued women are not inferior to men but are more passive so should take more passive roles in the home and allow men to do decision making
What were Augustines views on the effects of original sin on men
-Augustine believed that due to the effects of original sin men could no longer control their desires and were ruled by lust and concupiscence. He believed that men could no longer form lasting friendships due to this concupiscence
What does Augustine believe about the affects of the fall on acts of sex
- Broadly speaking, Augustine believed that after the fall due to original sin every act of sex was driven by selfish drive and concupiscence and original sin was passed on through sex.
- Augustine also had confused personal ideas about sex: he seemed to think on one hand that sexual desire was evidence of love of impermanent earthly things and encouraged married men and women to take a vow of celibacy once they had had enough children so they could devote themselves to God more.
- However he also told a women called Edicia off because she decided to stop having sex with her husband and as a result her husband committed adultery
What did Augustine say about human society before the fall
Augustine believed that before the fall people were capable of living harmoniously without the need for repressive political authority.
- He believed that even if they had not been rebellious against God they would have needed some sort of authority but this would have been a fatherly authority as opposed to a repressive one
- The leaders of society before the fall were shepherds rather than kings, guarding and protecting them as opposed to directly imposing restrictions upon the,
What did Augustine believe about human society after the fall
Augustine believed that after the fall people with original sin needed forceful authority otherwise they would behave according to their sinful natures of greed,violence and lust and as a result society would never be able to function
- He pointed to slavery as example of something that had never occurred before the fall on a societal level
- Augustine thought that the state was a punishment for fallen humanity but at the same time it provided order for humanity and if good people fall under a bad state they should use it as an opportunity to practice humility
What three types of peace did Augustine talk about that we could try to achieve in society
- The three types of peace Augustine talked about were
- perfect peace - this is peace only found in the city of God
- inner peace -Which is peace only those who live in the city of God during life can experience
- Earthly peace- The type of peace we all try to create as a society
What were Augustines views on earthly peace
- Augustine thought that earthly peace (which is the type that societies usually try and achieve) was not the ultimate ideal
- Augustine said all earthly peace was was a compromise between sinful human wills where everyone comes to an uneasy truce in order to make sure members of society have access to material goods. He said people only aim for earthly peace for their own material well-being
- He also pointed out that earthly peace could only be achieved by repressive political structures which control sinful natures by force.
- Despite his greivances with earthly peace he still recognised it was the best sort of life that sinful humans could hope for
What did Augustine say about the ‘city of God’ and the ‘earthly city’
Augustine also wrote about how humans are either members of a heavenly ‘city of God’ where those who are chosen by God are chosen to exist or part of an earthly city, governed by material forces which is where those condemned to hell exist
-Augustine talks about how Christians have to keep their eye on the prize which is the city of God until the time comes when they can enter heavenly society (excelsia ) and heavenly peace
What is grace for Augustine?
Grace is the free gift of love from God to humanity ( who are completely undeserving) . God has shown his grace through the death of Jesus on the cross which made up for the sins committed by Adam and Eve
What does God teach about the purpose of grace
Augustine teaches that the purpose of grace is to restore the broken relationship between God and humanity, because due to the fall , humans cannot restore the relationship themselves
Why does Augustine teach that grace is important
Augustine also teaches grace is important as it brings humans to summum bonum which is the state of absolute and eternal happiness . It is only available to those who have faith in God and those who God has chosen. In summum bonum there is an eternal happiness that comes from being in the presence of God.
What is another reason why Augustine teaches that grace is important
Augustine teaches grace is important as it is the only thing that can save humans from eternal punishment and their sinful nature.
-Augustine rejected ideas that reason could lead to enlightenment or performing acts of charity and kindness could book a place in heaven. For him grace is the only way to overcome the damage done from Adam and Eves disobedience
What are arguments against augustines view humans can never be morally good
- The view calls into question Gods omnibolevelence if he allows the disobedience of Adam and Eve to condemn all humans to a life where they can never be morally good. It also calls into question his wisdom if he did not make Adam and Eve strong enough to resist the temptation of sin
- Augustines views about humans not being able to be morally good have lost popularity over time suggesting that in fact they are not useful. Thinkers such as John-Jaques Rosseau and John Locke have lent towards the view humans are neither good nor bad and able to make free choices
- Augustines view that humans can never be morally good promotes a negative thought chain that humans shouldn’t even try for moral perfection if they know they are never going to be able to achieve it
What are opposing arguments to this point of view
Others may see augustines argument about humans never being morally good as helpful as it helps humans to come to the realisation quicker that Gods grace is the only thing that can save them . it enables them to stop being niavley optimistic that they will achieve moral perfection by themselves
Which are the best understandings of human nature and society
- Although pessimistic, Augustine has a clear knowledge of human nature and society with the idea that there was an ideal human nature that God intended for all people as seen in Adam and Eve but after the fall human nature had become dominated by cupiditas and the desire for material pleasures
- Jean Paul Sartre view that we are not determined by a nature but that we are free as individuals to decide who we are and what we want is also a good understanding
- Another good interpretation is that of modern evolutionary biologists who believe there is a distinctive human nature which is fundamentally driven by survival instincts and we are genetically programmed to pursue whatever is in our best interests as individuals and as a society
