Topic 1 - Augustine on human nature Flashcards
Augustine influence by manicheism?
manicheism is a form of esoteric christianity which believed that suffering and evil are not caused by god but by a lower power (satan). The world is a battlefield by the forces of light and dark
Augustine influence by platonism?
moved to rome and was frustrated by manicheism’s lack of explanation for the universe based on mathematics
platonism believed that some human minds are able to contemplate the one (i.e god)
eventually he went to christianity
in augustine’s view what was the human free will before the fall?
until the fall humans enjoyed a time and period of harmony, this is expressed by the complete obedience of adam and eve to god
in augustine’s view what was the human free will AFTER the fall?
DISOBEDIENCE
Augustine interpreted Adam and eves act as them attempting to replicate god and they can never enjoy the same relationship as cupidtas has now been separate from caritas
what does augustine mean by divided will?
said the distorted should had now become divided, ancient philosophers called this a problem of ‘akrasia’ meaning weakness of will.
what does augustine mean by concupscience?
uncontrollable desires
in his fallen state man is no longer to control his libido and this aspect of one’s soul is entirely dominated by concupiscence
the human nature is not now evil (rejection of manichaean) but will is now weak.
what does augustine mean by a transmission of sin?
original sin moving through history to modern day humans
what does augustine mean by free will and predestination?
said only god knows who is deserving of his grace and all humans can do is persevere in hope and faith
what does augustine mean by gods grace?
God’s generous, undeserved and free act of love for the world expressed supremely in the giving of his son Jesus Christ in order that humans may overcome their sinful natures.
GENERAL ESSAY PLAN - AUGUSTINE
POINT 1 - augustine account of fall and original sin
P1 – LITERAL READING OF GENESIS 3: Ontological state of sin
A: Augustine’s account of the Fall and Original Sin:
• Pre-lapsarian: perfect harmony between will body and reason, human relations dominated by cupiditas and caritas manifested through Adam and Eve’s friendship, obedience to God’s will, Amor Dei
• Post-lapsarian: akrasia (weakened will) now dominated by selfishness and concupiscence – our uncontrolled desires and appetites for bodily pleasure. Selfishness and lust corrupts human relationships and society.
• Double death of human-God relationship and literal mortality, transmission of sin through sexual intercourse
• Whereas other theologians took the phrase from St Paul “sin came into the world through one man” (Romans 5) to describe the inadequacies that all humans are prone to, Augustine made this sin an ontological condition of human existence – to live, inevitably, is also to sin. No aspect of the person or of human relationships escapes sin’s taint.
GENERAL ESSAY PLAN - AUGUSTINE
POINT 1 - COUNTER ARGUMENT - dawkins view of fall as outlined in “the god delusion”
CA: Dawkins view of the Fall as outlined in ‘The God Delusion’
• The very notion of a “sin contracted and not committed” (Catechism) seems to highlight the absurdity of “condemn(ing) every child, before it is born, to inherit the sins of a remote ancestor” (Dawkins)
• Entirely contrary to evolutionary biology but also irrational and dangerous
• Furthermore Pelagius highlighted that it would illogical for God to ask us to be holy if we were incapable of reaching the image of God – why would an omnibenevolent God punish his creation and allow them to be imperfection?
GENERAL ESSAY PLAN - AUGUSTINE
POINT 1 - COUNTER RESPONSE - GOD UNDERSERVED GRACE
R: God’s generous and undeserved grace manifested through the inexpressibly greater blessing of Jesus and his atonement for the sins of the elect.
• Humans corrupted the perfection through free will; however they can be SAVED through Grace of God
• Overcomes sin and the rebellious will in order to achieve the Summum Bonum
GENERAL ESSAY PLAN - AUGUSTINE
POINT 1 - CONCLUSIVE RESPONSE - NOTION OF GRACE PROBLEMATIC
CR: Notion of grace is problematic:
• After the Pelagian Crisis Augustine radically revised his book ‘On Free Will’, coming to reject Platonist ideas which rendered reason sufficient to live a good life
• The idea that only God’s grace can allow us to reach the Summum Bonum restricts human free will as we are not voluntarily choosing to sin, but are inevitably prone to whether we will it or not leaves human helpless and reliant upon the divine
• Moreover, the fact the grace is undeserved and only given to the elect undermines the Christian belief in a God of love and the sacrifice of Christ for all the “sins of the world”, as some will be condemned to eternal damnation!
GENERAL ESSAY PLAN - AUGUSTINE
POINT 2 - fall interpreted as spiritual journey
P2 – SYMBOLIC READING OF GENESIS 3: Spiritual journey, collective moral responsibility
A: The Fall interpreted as a spiritual journey:
• For many the Fall is a positive symbol of the spiritual and psychological life – seen as a story about humans relationship with the world and specifically the moment when each of us loses our innocence and engages with the harsh realities of life, begin the spiritual journey and end in the wholeness of Christ; not an easy journey
• Value of Augustine is that he highlights the spiritual dimension
GENERAL ESSAY PLAN - AUGUSTINE
POINT 2 - COUNTER ARGUMENT - materialist view of self
CA: Many take a materialist view of the self – no room for spirituality; value of Augustine’s theory lost for atheists…