Final Flashcards
“Retractions” by Augustine 3
a. Short. makes comments about his earlier writings
b. So we have keen insight over his change in thought
c. It goes through the main things he had done
AD 427
Explain 6 topics in DCD “City of God”
Rome falls 410, starts writing 412
Christians / Pagans disillusioned
- doctrine of creation: no pre-exist matter
- nature of time: God created
- creation of man: no repeat cycle of life, but linear & body/soul in union
- exist of evil: all God creates is good bc God is good; evil is privation of good
- spiritual nature of sin: sin in soul not body; spiritual; humans can’t overcome need God
- God: only find happiness in God himself (opposed to stoic ideas of social & friends)
Marin Knoll on influence of Africa with all leaders being monks
“Emergence of monasticism in Africa is one of the great turning points in history”
BB Warfield quote about the influence of St. Augustine
“Reformation was the victory of St. Augustine’s doctrine of grace over St. Augustine’s doctrine of the church.”
6 key points for Augustine’s conversion in Confessions: 386
- Boys stripped pear tree and gave to pigs
- Loved doing evil. That’s a “picture of our own heart”
- Studied under Ambrose, answers started to satisfy
- God deliver me from lust but not yet
- Reads Bible, flung down under fig tree, Asks God “how long must it be?” Then Rom 13 “put yea on the Lord Jesus”
- What I feared to lose is now a joy to give up
5 challenges Augustine had as a Bishop
Writing: Confessions, City of God, De Trinitate, Retractions Preaching Fighting heresy Donatist controversy Palagian controversy
What was the greatest favor that Posedius gave future generations?
hid the library of Augustine
5 points about purpose of “Confessions”
Theme: praise unto God
Confessing? He is confessing about the Grace of God
Purpose: encourage church to appreciate Grace of God
first 2/3rds about confession
Book 1, Chptr 1 “Great art thou, O Lord…”
5 sections in City of God
1-5: answers pagans who blame Christians
6-10: critique paganism / philosophers
11-14: origin of the two cities (city of man / city of God)
15-18: progress of two cities through history
19-22: destiny of the two cities
6 Topics of City of God
- Doctrine of Creation: no pre-existence of matter, “out of nothing”
- God created time, just as he created matter
- Reincarnation is nonsense, existence is linear. Body & soul in union. Body is good. against gnostics
- Evil is the privation of Good. Absence of Good.
- Sin’s origin is in the soul, not the body.
- Pagan=good life was social life. Aug= good life only found in Christ
Grand vision of City of God
Two cities contrasted by LOVE. Distinguished by objects of affection.
Earthly: opposed to spiritual city of God
God:
Def of Two Cities
- Earthly by love of self even to the contempt of God
- -Princes are subdued by love of ruling - Heavenly by love of God himself for contempt of self
- -Princes and subjects serve one another in Love
main idea: Two cities are distinguished by object of their affection
5 Characteristics “themes” of six days of creation (DCD)
1) Morning and evening
2) Progression in stages
3) Complete the number of the predestined
4) Citizens are aliens in this world: 58 passages in DCD, we are passing thru
5) Being alien is key to understand who we are
6 days of human history
- Adam to Noah
- Noah to Abraham
- Abraham to David
- David to Babylonian captivity
- Captivity to birth of Christ
- Christ to the end of the world
3 points about Citizens & DCD
- Enjoyment
- -As Christians, we are to use the things of this life but only find enjoyment of God himself
- -Don’t need to reject things of earthly world, but enjoy in Him, contempt for things of earth - Peace
- -“Eternal peace we find in heaven, earthly peace by comparison is misery”
- -As aliens seek it, use it, but that’s not why we’re here, “solace in the midst of misery”
- -Are fools to give hearts to anything of this world - church
- -Catholic thinks: One to one correspondence bt church and city of God
- -But eschatological Church of end times is more accurate
- -Perfect church of the future where we as aliens as city of God are awaiting self fulfillment
6 thoughts of Early church fathers on “End times (eschatological) return of Christ”
- Justin Martyr, 7 days of creation, 7 millennia of human history, first pre-millennialist
- Irenaeus, millennium and physical pleasures
- Origen, allegorical interpretation, what is an Alexandrian to do, apocalyptic
- Great Persecution, Galerius identified with the beast
- Constantine victory, some thought maybe this is the “golden era” or beginning of the millennium
- Moving up to the year 1000 discussed as the end times
Augustine 6 thoughts on end times, eschatology, return of Christ
- Millennium begins with first advent of Christ
- Church age, saints reign with Christ (both departed and still living)
- Satan bound for 1000 years, hindered
- First resurrection is spiritual
- Second resurrection is return of Christ, judgment
- Thrones in Rev 20 are ecclesiastical authority, saints reign with him throughout time
Leans to A-millennial with best fit
Crede, ut intelligas
I believe that I might understand
4 reasons to write De Trinitate
a. Writing to exalt the grace and glory of God
b. Passion in himself to understand
c. God the father love and love and love bt them.
d. Procession of the holy spirit
Soteriology of Arianism
- while all Pelagians are not necessarily Arians,
2. all Arians are Pelagians
3 analogies of De Trinitate in man
a. Memory, intelligence, will
b. Mind, knowledge of itself, love of itself
c. Lover, loved, love between them
5 point Background on the Donatist schism
a. Temples were not large enough to handle all the apostates
b. Only 3 bishops were there for consecration instead of typical 12.
c. Felix was suspected of traditio (gave copies of bible to authorities to be burned) an act of apostacy
d. Caecilian not recognized as official.
e. Donatist would head the new schism: Movement continued to grow, Very pop among peasants, Gained dominance by time Aug became bishop
5 areas of Augustine’s concern over Donatist for 40 years
a. Church of africa was so deeply divided
b. Division of the body of christ was inconceivable
c. wrote 18 works to address the donatist problem
d. In N. Africa, two churches of Catholic or Donatist. He wanted them united.
e. Donatists rebaptized those in order to join faith. This was very offensive.
Aug v Don: The Church is Catholic 5
a. Dons denied that catholic
b. Dons were saying church was geographically limited
c. Aug said church is house of god and house built all over the world
d. Believe dons had tried to usurp the glory of God
e. There can’t be two who are great Dons and God, only one is great…God
Aug v Don: Separation is Evil 4
a. Whoever is sep from the church, shall not have life but anger of God rest on him
b. No salvation outside the church
c. Calvin, “show me the true church and I’ll answer that”
d. Schism is evil sep
Aug v Don: Holiness of church 8
a. Crux of matter, how to define purity of the church
b. Must be pure
c. Dons said entire church is unholy bc of communion
d. Church is corpus per mixom=church is a mixed body, not just made up of the righteous
e. Dons misunderstand the nature of the church, -Aug
f. In the church, offenses are frequent. Wheat is full of the wheat and chaf.
g. Aug says your body is not pure either. Both churches are full of people who are sinners.
h. John says that if any man sins, we have an advocate with the father
Aug v Don: Preeminence of charity 6
a. Christian charity cannot be preserved except for existence of the church
b. Extend over the whole earth
c. Aug, to Dons, “you adore him in the head but blaspheme him in the body”
d. The severing is taking place in the Dons
e. Aug: Absense of charity is not just hate of charity but hate of Holy spirit
f. Aug: w/o charity, they possess no saving faith
Aug v Don: Sacrament of baptism 7
a. Catholic is the only true church
b. Don baptism valid if person joins Catholic church later
c. When man corrects his err, then goes Catholic, no baptism necessary.
d. baptism does not depend on the piety of person baptizing you.
e. Not willing to connect piety of clergy and quality of baptism.
f. Dons were Cath first before Dons so still connected to Cath church
g. Cyprian’s view was that they needed to rebaptize.
Aug v Don: Pastoral concern 6
a. Aug “there is one holy catholic and apostolic church: Can not separate”
b. Passion to bring the Dons back. Healed by the medicine of peace.
c. Let charity cover a multitude of sins.
d. Aug did witness some dons return to the cath church.
e. Some Dons returned to Cath bc persecution. Aug semi agreed, “love and do what you will” this was the persecution. Aug- no salvation other than in the cath church, Life or death.
f. “cath church alone is body christ. He is it’s head, savior of it’s body, the holy spirit gives life to no one outside this body.
Aug v Pel Background 10
a. From Brittain, shows up in Rome and going to leave in 410
b. Leave Rome, go to Africa to Hippo but Aug was Gone.
c. Colestious, lawyer and friend, stays in Af. Applies as presbyter, and in Carthage accuses him of heretical.
d. Julian Bishop in Italy who ends up the target of Aug called “Against Julian”
e. Pelagius goes on to palestine. In Palestine wide opposition to Pelagius, Colestious and their views.
f. Senate led by Bishop Ceseria, but colestious views moderately condemned by Pelagius that his disciple had been misunderstood. Pelagius escaped condemnation. He faired better in the East.
g. Bishop Innocent of Rome, dies before ruling made against Pelagius.
h. 200 af bishops stated opp to Pelagius. New pope of Rome agreed and condemned Pelagius and Colestius.
i. Bishop Julian disagreed. Died around 450.
j. Council of Ephesus condemned Nestorianism and Pelagianism at same time.
Pelagius views 5
a. Remember that early fathers in opp to Gnosticism gave more room to effort of man so may have been more open to Pelagianism.
b. What did the church believe about the doctrine of Man?
c. Sin – complete moral ability
i. Adam created mortal
ii. Adam’s sin injured only himself. Those after Adam actually sinless. Adam left a bad ex or role model for society not worse.
iii. Some saints in OT had lived sinless life
iv. Both the law and gospel could lead to the Kingdom
v. We can live w/o sin if we “will” to do it
vi. Ea person has moral responsibility to pursue life of obedience to god
d. Grace – God’s will made known in Christ
God’s revelation of his will to us.
e. Predestination – foreknowledge of human decisions
i. Simply knows what decisions we will make and whether we’ll follow or not. Free will
ii. God’s will for humans has been made known. Predest is His foreknowledge.
Aug response to Pelagianism 4
a. Wrote 15 books on Palegianism
i. Nature and Grace
ii. On Original Sin
iii. Argued against at every time he could
b. Sin – original sin from Adam, Total depravity
i. Privation of Good.
ii. Man created immortal and would have remained so if man not sinned
iii. Original sin biblical. Think: hereditary disease, transmitted biologically.
iv. Total depravity of man. John 15: I’m the vine you are the branches and apart from me you can do no good thing.
v. Personally impt to Aug bc of his own testimony.
vi. Will of man must be renewed after the fall of man and his view actually changes by God.
vii. Faith is a gift and grace is given that we might believe. Implication of the fall.
c. Grace – changing the will; faith is a gift, irresistible
i. God’s grace actually changes his will.
ii. Holy spirit changes this disposition.
d. Predestination – salvation viewed from eternity, unconditional
i. Rom 9, Aug modified his own views. What God does in time to renew the sinner he will do in eternity.
ii. Salvation viewed from the point of view of eternity.
iii. God passing over the non-elect. Leaves some in their sin and chooses to deliver others. Undeniable fact and mystery.
Aug on Human Will 4
- State of Innocence
a. Posse peccare (able to sin) freedom of contrary choice. To sin or not to has freedom. True feedom to choose.
b. Posse non peccare (able not to sin) - Fallen state
a. Non posse non peccare (unable not to sin) i.e. sin is inevitable, sin nature, man is fallen
b. Gen 3 shows things changed. - State of grace
a. Given the gift of the holy spirit
b. Posse peccare (able to sin)
c. Posse non peccare (able not to sin) - State of glory
a. The great hope
b. Non posse peccare (unable to sin) true freedom of the will, same will that God himself had. Human beings will be like God when joining God. Unable to sin because unable to sin. The great hope that I have.
Semi Pelagianism
- People: John Cassian, Vincent of Lerins, Faustus of Riez
- Sin – partial moral ability
- Grace – man moves, God comes to his aid
- Predestination – conditional foreknowledge
- A summary of what Isaiah preached
- Both judgments and the promise of salvation
Aftermath of the Debate
- Pelagianism condemned at Council of Ephesus, 431
- Semi-Pelagianism condemned at Council of Orange, 529, the contrast between the folly of Israel’s present and God’s design for Israel
- Moderate Augustinian view
a. Sin – moral inability
b. Grace – prevenient, then man responds in faith
c. Predestination – no reprobation - Medieval church moves back toward Semi-Pelagianism
Christianity in Egypt 6
a. Bible and liturgy in Coptic
b. Influence of monasticism
i. From the fruit of this development, influenced western church
ii. One of reasons that eastern orthodoxy is so ingrained
c. Faith survives in Arabic and Islamic culture
i. Tolerated the Coptics
d. By 10th century Copts are minority in Egypt
i. Had to live in sep community, diff clothing, evangelism against the law
ii. Cut off from rest of church in many ways
iii. But did maintain independence
e. Crusades
i. Cops would come under suspicion bc of crusades and Af worried they would spread
f. Persecuted today
i. Continued to survive
Christianity in Nubia
a. Coptic Christianity into Nubia
i. Modern Sudan
ii. Monosticite=one nature
b. Nubian Christianity develops
i. This part of Af had never been part of Roman emp.
ii. Arabs made treaties with Nubians
iii. They looked to the byzantine church and then went same way as the Cops.
c. Persecution in 12th century
i. Christian kingdom of Nubia, church buildings destroyed.
d. By 1500 Christianity almost disappeared
Christianity in Ethiopia
a. Merchants from Syria spread gospel (Frumentius, Aedesius)
i. Even further down African coast
ii. Abuna bishop of Egypt
b. Crown, church, and Amharic (indiginous language of Ethiopia) culture intertwined
c. Unique identity with Jewish heritage
d. Tension with Muslims
i. Increased as the Arabs moved down
ii. By 16th C Muslim generals started to take over
e. Catholicism in Ethiopia
i. Population disliked the Cath trying to rebaptize them
f. Ethiopian tradition of Christianity
i. Litergy points back to Alexandrian influence
ii. Much of christianity is a part of peasant life.
iii. There are now protestant churchs but still have muslim churhes which causes tensions that still are a struggle today.
g. Controversy over the sabbath.
7 Key differences bt East Orth & West
a. Date of Easter, orth celebrates a week later
b. Celibacy of clergy, orth can not marry after vs west cath had to be celebate
c. Clergy hairstyle, ponsur cut
d. Use of unleavened bread
e. Purgatory, east rejects doctrine
f. Papal primacy, in east bishops coligially made decision in church. Vs west was focused on one person
g. Filioque, nicene creed 381 says holy spirit precedes from the father,
Two turning points of E. Orth separation
a. Photian schism (858-880)
i. Bishop of Rome, bridge was healed but only temp.
b. “The Great Schism” (1054) bt Rom church and E Orth church
i. Reps of pope from Rome went to constantinople laid on high alter sentence of denunciation. Patriarch responded by condemning the pope.
On the eve of the reformation, there were attempts to bring the E back with W. But neither side was happy. Luther had a real desire for this to happen and felt the E church was closer in faith to protestant than Cath.
Understanding the Crusades
b. Penitential pilgrimages, had become way of life for Christianity, going to holy land and offering alms to the poor. Cutting off this pilgrimage brought anger.
c. Islamic conquests
d. Defensive war (persecution)Christians felt this was their land.
e. Regaining lost property, real estate belongs to the Christian church
f. Cruelty on both sides, plenty of cruelty on both sides, slaughter all the inhabitants.
