Unit 1: St Augustine & Human Nature Flashcards
Define “Fall”
The moment when Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree
Define “Human Nature”
The essential sense of what all humans are like
Define “Sin”
Turning away from the will of God
Define “Concupiscence”
The idea that our natural perfected state has been wounded so that we are not bad, however always inclining towards sin
Define “Original Sin”
The state that humans were brought into by The Fall
Define “Grace”
God’s generous, undeserved and free act of love for the world through Jesus
Define “Sunnum Bonum”
The highest or greatest good
What did Thomas Hobbes believe about human nature?
- Human life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”
- This is the natural state of a human, therefore humans are inherintly bad
What did Jean Jacques-Rosseau believe about human nature?
- “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains”
- The natural state of a human being is good, however society convinces people that it is okay to do bad things (mob mentality)
What did the Manicheans teach Augustine regarding both the soul and God’s charactaristics?
- God is not omnipotent. This means that the world is in a constant battle between light and dark (God and Satan) because of God’s inability to stop the conflict.
- The soul is influenced by both God and Satan
How did Augustine convert to christianity?
- He converted when a voice told him to read the Bible
- He opened it to a letter from St Paul to the Romans regarding moral living
- This is outlined in his book, “The Confessions”
What were humans like before the fall?
Humanity was in complete obedience of God and their duties to creation
Everything was in complete harmony with one another
What were humans like after the fall?
Humans were imperfect and tainted by sin
Name 2 things that the body desires as a result of “concupescience”
Power, food, money, sex
What social system did the Romans believe that their society was like?
A meritocracy - Economic/political success is vested in certain people based on their effort in society
What is the Earthy City like?
A typical human society, a society that tries to be good and moral but is tainted by Original Sin
What is the City Of God like?
- Created by love of God leading to self-mastery
- Glorifies God
- Seeks to praise and glorify God
- People serve each other
What did Pelagius teach on salvation/grace?
- There is no connection between Adam’s sin and the state that people are born into. People are born without sin.
- People have the free will to choose good or evil
- There is a grace of God active in the world, however it can be resisted
How does Augustine believe that we are saved from punishment?
God loves us so much (despite our post-Fall natures) that he gives his grace so we can avoid hell
What is the logical contradiction (presented by Friedrich Scheiermacher) in Augustine’s teachings on Original Sin?
If the world was perfect and created Imago Dei, it should never have been able to go wrong. Evil cannot create itself out of perfection.
What is the moral issue (presented by Richard Dawkins) in Augustine’s teachings on Original Sin?
A person being punished for the crimes of another is unethical and unacceptable.
