Augustine of Hippo

Question 1

Augustine of Hippo

Answer 1

354 - 430 AD
Born and raised in North Africa
Converted to Manichaeism as a teenager from Catholicism but later converted back in his 30s

Question 2

Manichaeism

Answer 2

‘Where does evil come from?’
They were unwilling to accept that God created evil
Mani theorized that evil has been present since existence and that Earth is a battle ground between good and evil

Question 3

Privation

Answer 3

The loss or absence of a quality which is usually present e.g. blindness is a privation of sight
Augustine believed that evil is a privation of good

Question 4

What’s the ultimate form of existence?

Answer 4

Goodness, so therefore anything that exists has some goodness in it
Therefore, pure evil can’t exist because evil can’t survive on its own
Good things turn bad due to a lack of goodness (corruption)

Question 5

What must all contingent things be?

Answer 5

Corruptible

Question 6

What did Augustine say about evil?

Answer 6

‘Nothing evil exists in itself, but only as an evil aspect of something else’

Question 7

Arguments against Privation Theory

Answer 7

It assumes a basic state of evil
Goodness relies on the constant effort of God as otherwise the world would lapse to evil
Occam’s Razor

Question 8

John 1:5

Answer 8

‘The light shines in the darkness, the darkness hasn’t overcome it’

Question 9

Gottfried Leibniz

Answer 9

If God is the Creator of everything then he’s responsible for what the world lacks

Question 10

Criticisms of the Privation Theory

Answer 10

Why can’t goodness be a privation of evil?

Question 11

Misuse of Freewill

Answer 11

‘All evil is sin or consequence of sin’ - Augustine

Why does original sin still affect us today? Why can’t an omnipotent God remove original sin?

Question 12

Criticisms of misuse of freewill

Answer 12

Doesn’t appeal to atheists

Supports Privation Theory

Question 13

Soul Deciding

Answer 13

God knew from creation the actions people will take and where they will end up
Humans freely choose to sin but God knows what they’re going to do and treats them accordingly

Question 14

Adam’s Sin

Answer 14

We were seminally present when Adam sinned which is why original sin exists

Question 15

J L Mackie (soul-deciding)

Answer 15

Mackie says the theory only makes sense if sin was a random choice
It seems unjust to punish people on behaviour they don’t intend on
God must bear responsibility as he gave us our inner character

Question 16

Criticisms of soul-deciding

Answer 16

If the Universe is created perfect then what went wrong?
If God knows what they’re going to do then how free is the decision?
If humans freely choose to sin then how can God know what they’re going to do?

Question 17

Occam’s Razor

Answer 17

The simplest explanation is to be preferred - privation theory is said to be too complicated

Question 18

Hell and Reconciliation (Augustine’s book)

Answer 18

City of God (426 AD)

Question 19

Why would God create hell?

Answer 19

Hell expresses God’s justice and anger against wickedness

God created Earth to express his power

Question 20

What does Augustine believe about Heaven?

Answer 20

Humans will go to Heaven despite their sins

Question 21

Hell

Answer 21

Hell was made in creation but wasn’t intended for human use

The main reason for Hell is that souls are cut off from God

Question 22

Genesis 1:31

Answer 22

‘God saw all that He had made and it was very good’

Question 23

The Doctrine of the Fall of Man

Answer 23

The sin of Adam and Eve destroyed the state of perfection

Question 24

How does God show his justice?

Answer 24

By not intervening to prevent evil

Question 25

If the Universe is created perfect then what went wrong?

Answer 25

Schleiermacher argues that this is a logical contradiction - either the world isn’t perfect or God enabled it to go wrong