AUGUSTINE and HUMAN NATURE * Flashcards
Describe AUGUSTINE and his ETHICAL JOURNEY
3
He supported MANICHISM , a type of Gnosticism, a DUALISTIC RELIGION , Believed humans had a Good Soul and a Body Soul, as well as the fact the Body Leads to Bad things
PLATONISM : was very Interested in PLATO’S IDEA, struck by the way Plotinus seemed ASHAMED of Living in a HUMAN BODY
Augustine Realised that the EVIL ISN’T a SUBSTANCE , but is NON EXISTENT
Continued Engaging with Christians and Concluded that HUMANS COULDN’T fFIND the TRUTH THROUGH their OWN REASON, but the NEEDED the GRACE of GOD, his CONVERSION to CHRISTIANITY was due to her MOTHER MONICA, a devout Christian
What are AUGUSTINE’S CONCLUSIONS
had a Hard View of PREDESTINATION
argued there was NOTHING A HUMAN being COULD DO to TRULY ENSURE they were GOOD
ultimately it’s through the GRACE OF GOD that we Can REACH the GREATEST GOOD
God’s Gift is the SACRIFICE of JESUS - Through this ORIGINAL SIN is REMOVED - through REASON we are ABLE to RECOGISE our FAILINGS and LIVE a GOOD LIFE
What does AUGUSTINE argue about HUMAN NATURE before the FALL?
There WAS PERFECT HARMONY between the Human Body, Will and Reason
There was a STATE of PERFECTION and ADAM and EVE’S relationship as Friends
they HAD EVERYTHING they Needed - were NO THREATS to their lives - were in Harmony with God - they lived in Complete Obedience to God
What does AUGUSTINE mean when he argues that the WILL is DRIVEN by CUPIDATS and CARITAS
The CHOICES we MAKE are DRIVEN by CUPIDITAS ( ‘Selfish Love, a love of wordly things and of Selfish Desires ) and CARITAS ( Generous Love ‘ a lobe of others and of the virus , Latin Equivalent of Agape )
What does AUGUSTINE teach about the NATURE OF SEX in Genesis BEFORE the FALL? How can we have True Friendship
Adam and Eve would have Had the PLEASURE of Sex, but as FRIENDSHIP is a GREATER GOOD than Lust, the Sex would have been Without Lust
Adam could use his Balanced Body, Will and Reason Make his Body want to have Sex When he Wanted
Give a BRIEF SUMMARY of the EVENTS of the FALL
The SERPENT (Satan) TEMPTS EVE to Eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil , she DOES and so Adam follows Suit they Realise that They're Naked, they HIDE from God and he finds out and they are duly punished
How is the FALL SYMBOLIC
For many Christians, especially given MODERN UNDERSTANDINGS of the BIG BANG and EVOLUTION, which Contradict Genesis, the Fall SYMBOLISES the STATE of HUMANITY
Most Christians find KEY TRUTHS WITHIN GENESIS, such as that God is Responsible for the Universe and Life, which he Created with Order; that humans have a special role on the planet and they USED their FREE WILL to REJECT what They’d be been given, thusnalientating themselves from God
What is HUMAN WILL AFTER the FALL
changed FROM a State of Harmony with Selfish Love and Generous Love In BALANCE TO one that’s BROKEN and DIVIDED
after Fall, AUGUSTINE belied the WILL to be DIVIDED and Tearing Humans APART between what They Know they Should and Shouldn’t do and What they Want to Do
What Role does PRIDE and DISOBEDIENCE have for AUGUSTINE
He COULDN’T EXPLAIN why Adam and Eve Chose to Sin and Disobey God, although he SUPPOSED that it Had to have Been due to Pride of the sort where people Imagine Themselves to be BETTER THAN THEY ARE
What does He Mean when he ARGUED that we HAVE a DIVIDED WILL (arkrasia)
People Still have the God-Given Ability to Reason and Recognise Right From Wrong, but they’ve CORRUPTED THIS WILL, so that they are always Inclined to Do Wrong and Be Selfish and Lustful. The end up Arguing with themselves, Wanting to Do Right But also Wanting to Do Wrong
In our FALLEN STATE, WHY are We DOMINATED BY CONCUPISCENCE (sexual lust and uncontrolled desire)?
He Sees the NAKEDNESS of ADAM & EVE at the Point of Eating the Fruit and The SHAME and LUST comes from a SIGN that the WILL is NO LONGER in HARMONY as it is NAKEDNESS that DRIVES LUST - when Selfish Love Overtakes Generous Love.
Because of this, he Believed that FRIENDSHIP was a STRUGGLE to MAINTAIN.
He believed that the EFFECTS of the FALL could be SEEN in the WAY Different People TREAT EACH OTHER
What role does ORIGINAL SIN have and What is meant by DOUBLE DEATH and TRANSMISSION of SIN
Said that Original Sin was a DOUBLE DEATH OF HUMANS :
- Killing the Friendship between God and Humans / Relationships that have been Destroyed
- Becoming Mortal, following the Fall
What does AUGUSTINE believe about GRACE?
- Taught that the ONLY Way in Which HUMANITY and GOD could be RESTORED to HARMONIOUS Living was THROUGH the GRACE of God
- the SACRIFICE of Jesus on the cross, for him, PROVIDED the ONLY WAY FORWARD, where the Price for the Sin of Adam & Eve was Paid by Jesus’ death
- was the ONLY THING that could SAVE People from ETERNAL PUNISHMENT for their Sinful Nature, only way to OVERCOME the DAMAGE DONE by Adam and Eve in their Act of Disobedience
What is GRACE understood as for AUGUSTINE
- the LOVE and MERCY of Go
- a QUALITY of God that is Capable of Reaching the Heart and Will of a Person
- a Quality which can give Moral Guidance to the lives of Christians
- encourages the soul to praise God
Explain the Belief on the Effects of ORIGINAL SIN on : Men, Women and Sexuality
SEXUAL DESIRE was Evidence of Sinful CUPIDITAS and often ENCOURAGED the IDEA that Married Men and Women should Take a Vow Of Celibacy, Once they had Enough Children. People should try to Live as Plain and Simple a Lifestyle as they could In Order to Devote themselves to God
MEN and WOMEN are both Created in the IMAGE of GOD, they both share equally in this Image as they BOTH have a RATIONAL NATURE CAPABLE of FORMING a LOVING RELATIONSHIP with GOD
