augustine on human nature Flashcards
the fall, original sin, exclusivism, grace, predestination and limited election, pelagius
introduction
- augustine claims that there is a human nature which is corrupted by original sin
- he thought humans had a natural predisposition towards sin. he wondered where it came from, as it would contradict god’s omnibenevolence to suggest that he created it.
- he concluded humanity must be to blame for it and looked at the genesis story as an explanation
the fall and original sin
- adam and eve had a harmonious relationship with nature and with each other.
- augustine thought our rationality had perfect control over our bodies. sex was a purely rational act for reproduction, never driven by lust or desire.
- after the fall, adam and eve were corrupted by a tendency to do evil. this is inherited by each human
- all humans were “we were all in [adam], we were that one man who fell into sin”. it became impossible got anyone to be born without original sin
- humanity is massa damnata (the mass of the damned)
concupiscence and the types of love
- concupiscence is where bodily desire overpowers reason. augustine thought the most obvious case of this is sexual desire. the sexual organs can be active when the mind doesn’t want them to be.
paul “i do the very thing i hate” - augustine never visited females unchaperoned because he did not want to risk this
- ian barbour agrees that marriage should be based on love not lust, but this lust does not come from original sin, it has always been around
“suffering, conflict, and death long preceded the advent of humanity”
cupiditas: love of earthly and impermanent things, selfishness and love of self.
caritas: the latin version of the green word agape. it means love of others due to virtue as an expression of god’s will.
evidence for and against augustine’s interpretation of the fall (including pelagius)
for:
- evidence for corrupt nature in himself and society
- he could be right that human nature is corrupted by the fall, even if he’s wrong about the fall being the exact means by which that came to be
- gk chesterton said there is evidence for original sin ‘in the street’
-r. niebuhr said it was the one ‘empirically verifiable’ christian doctrine
against:
- the evidence of genetic diversity means it’s not possible for all of humanity to have descended from two people
- there is evidence of evolution; we evolved, we were not created
- augustine’s biological understanding of reproduction is false. he believed that reproduction worked by there being people inside of men (homunculus theory) so when adam sinned, all future humanity became infected by it.
- humans have progressed over time. martin luther says “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice”
- steven pinker shows that violence has decreased and people are more secure now than at any other point in history
- if we were corrupt, we could not have improved, but we have
pelagius:
- augustine’s observations reflect society, not human nature
- we are not born evil, we are “educated in evil”
“the long habit of doing wrong has infected us from childhood and corrupted… it seems to have somehow have acquired the force of nature”
exclusivism
- we are corrupted by original sin
- the genuine perseverance in jesus is only possible with god’s gift of grace
god’s grace & election
- grace is what saves humans and thereby allows them into heaven
- election refers to god’s choosing to grant grace
- st paul calls this a “gift” we cannot “take credit” for earning
- heaven is not something humans have the power to achieve.
- god’s granting of undeserving grace is the only possible way to be saved
predestination (and pelagius’ view)
- the fate of our afterlife is unalterably fixed
- if we cannot get to heaven ourselves, god has therefore predestined us
- double predestination is that heaven is predestined for some and hell is predestined for others
pelagius:
- if we cannot avoid doing evil, it is unjust for god to punish us for sinning
- it is unethical for all of humanity to be blamed for adam and eve’s actions
- indefensible view of moral accountability
- only having free will and therefore being without coercion from original sin makes it sense for the biblical theme of god’s judgement and punishment to be moral
pelagius & augustine on punishment
augustine:
- augustine does not blame humanity for adam’s sin, it is just a factual consequence
- predestination is not unjust of god, it is deserved - “the secret yet just judgement of god”
psalm 25:10 “all the paths of the lord are mercy and truth” - his grace cannot be unjust
- we should not use our limited human minds to judge god
pelagius:
- it is incompatible with omnibenevolence to suggest we deserve punishment
pelagius on god’s commands
- god commands us to do good and avoid evil. if we could not obey this, god would not command it
“he imposed commands upon man that man is not able to bear” - it is hard to see the purpose in trying to be good if it is impossible for humans to actually be good
“that we are able to do good is of god, but that we actually do it is ourselves” - god gave us free will so we can choose goodness
augustine and biblical evidence against pelagian free will
- we can do good BECAUSE of god’s grace
paul “for it is god who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose” - augustine says good acts come from love, which paul claims is greater than knowledge.
- knowledge is associated with free will, so love is greater than free will
paul “god’s love has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit” - praising humans for their love means we are praising them more than god for giving us free will (this lacks theological credibility)
- if we receive love through divine grace, our good actions come from the love, not free will
- without love we cannot do good - the love comes from god
- pelagius then said it was always his view we are “assisted by divine help”
- augustine said pelagius needs to be specific of what god’s help is
- augustine believes the divine help is god intervening in our will with love. pelagius probably meant free will was the gift of divine help
interpretation of the fall in today’s life
- seen as an event in a person’s life, not in history
- it is the moment where we are faced with reality
- augustine’s interpretation does not leave room for moral and spiritual development
- the end of the narrative is where we are united with god, this is a state of fulfilment and wholeness
richard dawkins
- believes this belief is absurd and contradicts evolution
“it is absurd to imagine the corruption of all humans rests on two individuals” - he believes this is harmful to people as it demonises natural desires
“unhealthy obsession with sin, guilt, violence and repressed sexuality”
stephen pinker
- we should take into account eachother, not religion eg. as religion has decreased, there is less capital punishment
“you and i ought to reach this moral understanding”
rienhold niebhur
- rejecting the traditional notion of sin means that we are corrupting the human sense of responsibility
- the power of reason and belief in moral goodness is not enough
- he does believe we can remedy the human condition
- we have to understand our condition fully: when we come into contact with god we can understand limitations and possibilities
“original sin is inevitable but not necessary”
sigmund freud
- libido is a vital and natural element and is the defining factor in relationships
- he believed personality is not chosen by adam and eve, it is chosen by our childhood
- he believed sexual neurosis can be passed on through culture and society - similarly to augustine’s view of the transmission of original sin
- the cure is not god, it is psychoanalysis (the belief in god only encourages guilt)
