Augustine & Human Nature Flashcards
Reasons why Augustine’s teaching on a historical fall is wrong?
-It does not make sense to say that Adam and Eve were tempted because if Augustine is right that everything was perfect and they were created perfectly, they should not even have been able to think about disobeying God
-A textual analysis of Genesis 1-3 suggests different authors. If there are different authors, then the account is less likely to be literally true
-Evidence from evolution, for example, discredits the Genesis account in it’s entirety (because humans evolved over time, rather than being created ready made) and the existence of the Garden of Eden- which itself cannot be found with an angel guarding it
Reasons why Augustine’s teaching on a historical fall is not wrong?
-Some Christian’s find it useful because it explains how things are, such as the dominance of men, the significance of lust and the broken relationship with God
-The fall, if understood literally challenges God’s nature; for example, why God would create a world with imbalance, evil and suffering in it
-However, difficult it is to believe that the fall is literally true, the story’s influence on Christianity is so far reaching that it perhaps needs to be taken seriously. The account can have use to Christian though pt even if it is not taken literally
Reasons why Augustine’s teaching on original sin is wrong?
-Even if the fall were true, it is unfair for humans today to be affected by the actions of the 2 people so long ago
-Augustine’s teaching on original sin has it’s origins not in truth but in Augustine’s own struggles with sex and relationships
-Evolution demonstrates that humans have emerged from many ancestors and so original sin cannot have come out of the sin of Adam and Eve
Reasons why Augustine’s teaching on original sin is not wrong?
-The idea of concupiscence links well to our experience of temptation and explains why all humans are affected by it so strongly
-The idea of our physical desires being in such control of us is shared by some psychologists, strengthening Augustine’s view
-Original sin explains well why God allows humans to commit atrocities in the world and yet still remains a God of love because it shows the centrality of free will
What was the state of perfection before the fall?
The state that Adam and Eve lived in can only be described as perfect harmony
-They had everything they needed
-There were no threats to their lives
-They were in harmony with God: he used to walk in the garden with them
-They lived in complete obedience to God
Augustine interpreted these few verses of genesis to say that there was perfect harmony between the human body, will and reason
What did Augustine portray about Adam and Eve’s relationship?
-They were married as friends
-athetoid were friends with God and the rest of creation
-Their friendship included reproduction
-They 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 to make his body want to have sex when he wanted
What ways does Augustine interpret the fall in?
-The shame of nakedness and the punishment to eve of lust and subordination defined male-female relationships post fall
-Harmony is lost and self love and generous love separate within the will- they pull humans in opposing directions
-Augustine is clear that it is the will, not the body, that has been corrupted
What is said about lust and selfish desires after the fall?
-For Augustine, the effect of the fall is wide ranging. Friendship can still exist and still be important, but it is less straightforward because the will has become clouded
-The will therefore moves people away from the good- this is what Paul describes when he says, ‘I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do’
-Augustine interpreted this passage in his own life to refer to his need to overcome his sexual desires but says this applies to all of us- lust begins to rule human relationships
-This lack of control over our desires, especially our lust, is concupiscence
What are the effects on the will of the fall?
-For Augustine, original sin, which came into the world at the fall, characterises human nature. In his terms, the will continues in its disharmony and therefore rebels. This is illustrated sexually: man loses his ability to control his sexual desires- not just during sex but also in his desire to have sex
-Those who do not have the urge for sex are rebelling in other ways. It is important to understand that other thinkers see original sin as describing human nature, but Augustine saw it as changing; therefore, from the fall onwards, no human being is truly good, however much they do good things
-Augustine believed original sin is passed onto all generations through sexual intercourse because all humans are United through being descendants of Adam and Eve and are all conceived as a result of lust
What did Augustine say about original sin?
-Killing the friendship between God and humans
-becoming mortal, following the fall
What is the effects of the fall on human societies?
-Before the fall, humanity was characterised by friendship and the leadership humans required was gentle. However, after the fall, humans needed property authority to control them and their rebellious wills: this is shown in the different types of leader through the OT
-Slavery was an example of the effect of the fall on society
-Augustine spoke of society’s need for peace- not heavenly peace, which humans cannot achieve, but earthly peace, which is temporary and is based around earthly, material interests
-Society must strive for this limited form of peace by aiming for virtues such as self control, which would never have been needed without the Fall. Christian’s should, however, keep in mind that there is a greater peace available to all
-The church is available to help people on this journey
Can humans ever be morally good?
-Although the emphasis is that original sin is not the same as a day to day sin, Augustine is clear that everyone is corrupted by the event.
-Augustine says that people need to keep in mind things beyond earth- both the heavenly peace and also what God can give directly: Grace.
-It still seems unfair, however, for humans to be living lives that will always fall short and this raises key questions about the nature of God
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What is God’s Grace?
-Our free will is naturally limited by the fact that, in Augustine’s eyes, people are tainted by concupiscence and so cannot choose the right action every time, even by the use of reason
-God’s Grace can make right choices however. God’s Grace is freely given to undeserving humans and is seen especially in the sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross
-Humans can accept the grace of god, but as they continue to sin, Augustine believed that God elects some people to go to heaven; this is a sign of God’s benevolence, that he is still prepared to let some people go to heaven
-This underlines the belief that humans do not deserve grace (because of the fall and original sin), but grace is the only thing that can save people from hell
-Inspired by Plato, Augustine talks about God’s goodness being a greatest good (summon bonum) that is available only for some- it is part of God’s nature
-Goodness in this world is always temporary, whereas the summun bonum is eternal happiness only found in the permanent presence of God
-No person can buy a place in heaven, it can only be given by grace
How is Augustine’s view of human nature pessimistic?
-We are tainted from the moment we are born
-There is little opportunity to develop away from our fallen states and no total escape from it
-Where there is such opportunity, it is only to pursue earthly peace, rather than true heavenly peace
-Concupiscence is an extremely strong force that we cannot escape
-His teaching about election and predestination suggests that hell* is a certainty for some from the moment of birth
-We are not truly free beings
How is Augustine’s view of human nature optimistic?
-God’s grace is totally given to undeserving humanity
-Jesus died on the cross to save humans from sin: he redeemed humans- paid the price for their sinful natures
-The church exists to help Christian’s on their journey, starting with the important moment of baptism that keeps the wound of original sin closed
-Faith exists as a way to point people in the direction of the summun bonum
