Augustines teaching on human nature Flashcards
Define human nature
the essential sense of what all humans are like; shared characteristics
Define stewardship
the Christian idea that humans must take care of Gods creation - God’s gift of the planet to us
How did Augustine view the world before the fall?
-Augustine argued that before the Fall humans had free will and used it to be obedient to God and to be in harmony (concordia) with each other as friends and with the natural world.
-Augustine said there was perfect harmony between the human body, human will and reason.
-Adam and Eve’s relationship was a friendship, sex was not driven by lust but by friendship.
What was human will for Augustine?
a balance between the powers of self-love and generous love and the garden of Eden, the two were in harmony.
Where in the Bible is the fall described?
Genesis 3
According to Augustine, what was the turning point for humanity?
the fall
What were the consequences of the fall?
The perfection of the garden of Eden was lost, and the harmony between body, will and reason disappeared into imbalance. The will is corrupted and so all of human nature as we see it now comes from this moment.
How did the relationship between Adam and Eve change post fall?
the moment they realised that they were naked when eating the fruit is a significant moment for Augustine as the shame and lust that comes from this is a sign that the will is no longer in harmony because its nakedness that drives the lust - when selfish love overtakes generous love. Their married relationship is no longer about friendship in a pure sense but lust in a corrupt sense.
Why does Augustine believe all humans should receive the same punishment as Adam and Eve?
All humans have been tainted through inheriting original sin from earlier generations, right back to Adam and Eve.
Post-fall, does Augustine believe that friendship can still exist?
yes, but he believes that it will be a struggle to be maintained as the will has been corrupted and tries to pull people away from goodness as they become affected, especially for lust.
define concupiscence
lack of control over our desires, especially by lust. Augustine believes that this rules human will now: it takes over human will so that choices are warped and we tend to choose our own selfish desires over unselfish ones.
is the protestant or catholic view closer to Augustine’s idea of the consequences of the fall ? What are the two views?
Protestant view is closer. Many believe that the Fall has entirely corrupted human nature and this cannot be dealt with by humans alone. Catholics believe that human nature has been weakened and people must struggle against concupiscence.
What is the key difference between the catholic view of concupiscence and the protestant view?
protestants believe that concupiscence is the sin itself that we all have; Catholics believe that it is what causes sin.
What is meant by ‘double death’ of humans? (Augustine)
The first death is shown in the relationships that have been destroyed at the fall and the second death is the one we all go through by being mortal again as a result of the fall.
Did Augustine believe that humans are free?
No - Augustine rejected the idea that humans are completely free and he ended up with a hardened view of predestination. His view leave humans quite powerless: all they can do is push through their lives and hope they are a part of God’s chosen people. God’s willingness to choose some people is expressed in his grace.
Define predestination
the idea that God chooses specific people to bring them to salvation.
What does the consequences of the fall mean for peoples relationship with God?
humans cannot restore their broken relationship with God on their own. Augustine believed that harmony could only be restored through the direct action of God - his grace.
what is gods grace?
his free gift of his love to humanity who are completely undeserving. it is shown in the death of Jesus on the cross - the ‘second tree’ that made up for the sins committed by Adam and eve at the ‘first tree’
What is the idea of the highest good for Augustine? who is it available to?
summum bonum - it is available for those who have faith in God and those whom God has chosen
What is summum bonum ?
the highest good - a state of absolute and eternal happiness which can only be achieved through being in God’s presence ( and in a restored relationship with God)
How does summum bonum differ to heaven?
it is a state a person is in when in heaven, a state that God has and God can bring to humans to only be in his grace - it cannot be bought.
Augustine is not right: sin does not prevent humans from being morally good
-The Catholic view of concupiscence as being only an inclination to sin, rather than innate moral corruption means that humans can choose moral goodness
-The idea that God is all loving suggests that humans would not be condemned to a life or place of moral badness
-With gods help (grace), we can be morally good
Augustine is right: sin means that humans can never be morally good
-As true goodness, the summum bonum is perfection, humans will always fall short of this - they will lack some goodness
-corrupt human nature (disposition that gives us imbalances)
-original sin. This caused all future humans to be born with an irresistible temptation to sin.
What did original sin cause an imbalance of ?
Original sin also caused an imbalance of cupiditas (self-love) and caritas (selfless love of others) – so that we have too much selfish love of ourselves and of earthly possessions compared to selfless love of others.
How did the Fall affect human societies according to Augustine?
-led to a sense of corruption and lack of stability
-societies are groups made up of fall humans
-He thought that the state is just a punishment for fallen humanity. It has the power to give orders, to punish, to kill, to fight, encourage (in his time) slavery.
-The harmony of the society in the Garden of Eden (where politics and leadership were not required) no longer exists and direct relationship with God (who provided the garden of Eden all the leadership that was needed) cannot shape daily life
Define pelagianism
Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection
Pelagius’ view of the original sin and its effects
-Pelagius taught that humans were free of the burden of original sin, because it would be unjust for any person to be blamed for another’s actions.
-According to Pelagianism, humans were created in the image of God and had been granted conscience and reason to determine right from wrong, and the ability to carry out correct actions
-In Pelagius’ view, the doctrine of original sin placed too little emphasis on the human capacity for self-improvement, leading either to despair or to reliance on forgiveness without responsibility
-If “sin” could not be avoided it could not be considered sin.
-Pelagius believed that Adam’s transgression had caused humans to become mortal, and given them a bad example, but not corrupted their nature
Arguments for original sin not existing
- There has been a decrease in crime rates. This proves that original sin cannot exist, because if we really had an irresistible temptation to sin, we could not have morally improved, yet we have.
-Evil actions are better explained by social conditioning, or what Pelagius called being ‘educated in evil’.
-Pelagius travelled from Ireland to Augustine’s part of the world, and noted that people in Rome were much more sinful than he was used to, which proves this sociological point that it is culture and upbringing which causes sinful behaviour. Believing it is nature is really just an excuse.
-If there is any selfishness in human nature, evolution is a much simpler and more scientific explanation of it.
-John Locke believed people are born - a blank slate - we are not born with a common human nature.
