Augustine

Question 1

What is ”The Fall”?

Answer 1

• The moment when Adam and Eve first disobeyed God
- This allowed sin to enter the world

Question 2

What did God create?

Answer 2

• A good and perfect world
- This is supported by the Garden of Eden which is in a constant state of harmony and without suffering

Question 3

What were Adam and Eve banned from eating?

Answer 3

• They were banned from eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil
- When Adam and Eve chose to eat from the tree, they were choosing to not live in harmony with God (the Original Sin)

Question 4

What quote from the Bible displays what Adam and Eve were like before they ate the fruit?

Answer 4

• “Adam and his wife were naked and they felt no shame”

Question 5

What quote from the Bible displays what Adam and Eve were like after they ate the fruit?

Answer 5

• “The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised they were naked”
- This means that before eating the fruit, Adam and Eve were innocent, however after they began to feel lust and tried to hide from God

Question 6

How did God punish man?

Answer 6

• He made hard work necessary for survival
- “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food”

Question 7

How did God punish women?

Answer 7

• He caused pain in childbirth
- “With painful labor you will give birth to children”

Question 8

How did God punish nature?

Answer 8

• He cursed the ground because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience

Question 9

What is concupiscene?

Answer 9

• It is shameful lust
- God also made it part of the punishment for original sin

Question 10

What does Augustine believe about sex?

Answer 10

• He believes that sex between a married couple with the aim to “be fruitful and increase in number” is legitimate
- This means he believes sex in the right context is not wrong
* However, he still argues that the lust that accompanies legitimate sex is shameful (this is because lust cannot be controlled by reason and because it causes the body to act uncontrollably)

Question 11

What 2 things can Original Sin refer to?

Answer 11

1. The first sin of Adam disobeying God
2. The consequences of that first sin

Question 12

What is the doctrine of Original Sin?

Answer 12

• The belief that as a result of Adam’s actions, all human beings are inherently sinful and that sin is passed on from generation to generation (present in everyone as a part of our Human Nature)

Question 13

How does the Bible support the idea that human beings are inherently sinful?

Answer 13

•Romans = “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned”

Question 14

Who does not accept the doctrine of original sin?

Answer 14

• Julian of Eclanum
- He believed this due to such teachings denying the equity and fairness of God

Question 15

5 arguments by Augustine to defend his doctrine of original sin:

Answer 15

1. The Bible is clear we are all punished as a result of Adam’s sin, which means it is necessary within the Christian belief
2. One consequence of Original Sin is that it corrupted human flesh as before the fall Adam would not have died, however after it human flesh decays and dies showing how sinful human flesh is passed onto all humans
3. Before the fall, Adam and Eve felt no lust, but afterwards all humans lost the ability to separate sex from the sin of concupiscence (this means all humans are conceived in sin)
4. All humans are Adam’s descendants (this means God has the right to extend the punishment of Adam’s sin to all of us)
5. Augustine also believes all humans were “seminally present in Adam’s loins” when he disobey God (this means we are all just as guilty as Adam)

Question 16

What accusation was Augustine faced with?

Answer 16

• He was faced with the accusations that he was claiming sex itself was sinful
- He defended this by distinguishing sex between two married people to have a baby as legitimate while he argues that concupiscence is illegitimate as it is through lust that sin is passed on through sex

Question 17

Why does Augustine believe humans being born with original sin means we can never be perfect?

Answer 17

• He believes we can never be perfect due to the corruption of our human nature and also our corrupted will
- This is because our wills are no longer strong enough to allow us to be good enough to deserve heaven simply through our own choices and actions

Question 18

How does Augustine support humans having corrupted wills?

Answer 18

• He displays his own battle against his will in “Confessions” and how it was only through God’s intervention that helped him choose the right path
- He believes this moral weakness is also a punishment for Adam’s sin

Question 19

What does Augustine believe only God can free us from?

Answer 19

• He believes that only God can free us from the chains of original sin as we do not have the ability to do it ourselves

Question 20

What does Augustine show in his book titled “The City of God”?

Answer 20

• He shows how the selfish human nature all humans got as the result of “The Fall” has resulted in consequences for society
- He describes two cities: an earthly one and a heavenly one (he believes only Christians belong to the heavenly city in death)
- This means the earthly city is for everyone including Christians, while they are alive, and it is part of our punishment for Original Sin, while also being a way of limiting or managing the effects of our sin

Question 21

What does Augustine believe the earthly city is a punishment?

Answer 21

• He believes it is a punishment because we are ruled by others, and because it is founded on greed/selfish desires, which leads to war and other evils
- This means the rules and punishments of the earthly city can also be a way of keeping our selfish desires under control and provide us with the
peace/security we need to pursue the higher goods (God)

Question 22

Why does Augustine believe humans can do nothing to deserve heaven?

Answer 22

• He believes humans can do nothing to deserve heaven as we cannot make ourselves perfect through our own wills
- However, he believes God has provided a way for humans to achieve the summum bonum

Question 23

How did God provide a way for humans to achieve the summum bonum?

Answer 23

• He chose to become human and take the punishment for our sin, as he came to earth as Jesus through the Virgin Mary, which means he was not conceived in sin
- This means Jesus is also God incarnate which means he also had no sin, so he did not deserve to die for the punishment of sin, but chose to do so on our behalf
(this is what allows humans to be forgiven and go to heaven)

Question 24

What did Jesus do for humans?

Answer 24

•He redeemed us from sin as we were sins to slavery before Jesus brought us out of it
- He also atoned for our sins through his punishment on the cross

Question 25

What did Jesus’ death allow humans to do?

Answer 25

• It allowed humans to reconcile with God (through atonement)

Question 26

What did Jesus’ resurrection make possible?

Answer 26

• It allows for humans to be resurrected to a new life in heaven as he showed power over death when he came back to life

Question 27

What is the only way to benefit from Jesus’ death?

Answer 27

• We need to accept what he did for us to benefit from his death
- This can be shown through being baptised as it washes away our sins
* This is why Augustine argued that infants should be baptised as soon as possible since the very act of baptism can heal us of our original sin

Question 28

What are “actual sins”?

Answer 28

• He believes “actual sins” are other sins we can still commit
- He believes we have to repent and ask for forgiveness when we commit these sins

Question 29

What does Augustine argue about God’s grace?

Answer 29

• He argues that it is only God’s grace that can help us to overcome evil when we are fighting against temptations that our own wills are not strong enough to resist

Question 30

What does Augustine argue can only be achieved through God’s grace?

Answer 30

• He argues that salvation and the summum bonum can only be achieved through the grace of God

Question 31

5 strengths of Augustine:

Answer 31

Question 32

6 weaknesses of Augustine:

Answer 32