Augustine Flashcards
1
Q
Who was Augustine influenced by?
A
- Plotinus = was ashamed to live in a body like his but believed that human intellect was enough to ascertain what’s good. (Rejected him because this would make revealed knowledge in Bible pointless)
- Manichaeism = believed that the universe was in an eternal state of conflict between what’s good and what’s bad (Grew out of these ideas after having a vision that evil is not a substance)
2
Q
What was the world like before the Fall?
A
- Adam and Eve live in a loving friendship with one another
- World is in a state of perfection which followed God’s plan
- Humanity lives without any need for repressive political authority
- God lives among them
- They have a sexual relationship that’s not governed by lust
3
Q
How does Augustine describe Adam and Eve’s friendship before the Fall?
A
- Concordia
- A state of easy, understanding friendship with no desire
- Augustine put a lot of importance into friendships because he thought that it was vital for naturally social humans
4
Q
What does massa damnata mean?
A
- Humanity is the mass of the damned (the result of the Fall)
5
Q
What was the state of humanity after the Fall?
A
- Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden
- God gives Eve pain in childbirth and makes Adam toil the fields to get his food
- Both realise suddenly that they’re naked and are ashamed to be in that state in front of God
- Human nature becomes corrupted
6
Q
How did the Fall lead to Inherited Sin?
A
- Augustine believed we all of humanity was seminally present in the loins of Adam and therefore all of humanity is somewhat culpable for the Original sin
- Sex also became tainted and driven by desire and is therefore sinful, so we are all born out of sin
7
Q
What is cupiditas?
A
- Selfish lust driven by desire and love of material things.
- The love of changeable, impermanent, earthly things
- Entirely the fault of the individual if followed
- Followed by unhappy, ignorant people
8
Q
What is caritas?
A
- Latin word for agape
- Selfless, understanding, unconditional love
9
Q
What is concupiscence?
A
-When bodily desire overpowers reason
-Most obvious case of this being sexual desire
-Sexual organs can be active when the human mind doesn’t want them to be
10
Q
What did Pelagius believe about human nature?
A
- Says our innate human nature isn’t corrupt, we’re educated in evil, it’s just how we’re raised
- Adam and Eve’s sin wasn’t passed on to all of humanity, it was kept to themselves
- Children are born in the same state as they were before the fall
- Would argue that if Original Sin were true then we wouldn’t be able to avoid doing evil which would make God punishing us for it unjust
- Also says it’s unethical for all of humanity to be punished for the sins of Adam
11
Q
How did Augustine disagree with Pelagius?
A
- Augustine doesn’t say God actually blames humanity, just says that Original Sin is a purely factual consequence of the Fall
- Says that it wouldn’t make sense for children to be born in the same state as pre-Fall, otherwise what would be the point of Jesus’ sacrifice?
