Augustine - A Level DCT (Religious Studies)

How was life pre-fall?

Perfect, in relationship with god, infinitely good, in harmony, no suffering

What were Adam and Eve like before the fall?

Friends without sin or lust

What was caused by Adam and Eve's disobedience?

Corruption of our nature, original sin, all humans born with irresistible temptation to sin

How is original sin passed on and what does that mean?

Sexual intercourse, so even newborns are indirectly sinful

What is original sin responsible for?

Human desires and societal instability

What is concupiscence?

Tendency to sin - Bodily/sinful desire overtakes reason

What is Cupiditas?

Selfish love of worldy things and desire

What is Caritas?

Selfless love (like Agape)

What is Summum Bonum?

The highest good & ultimate goal (like Eudaimonia)

What can overcome our rebellious will and sin to achieve what?

God's grace, to achieve summum bonum

We have too much __ love of __ and __ rather than __ love of __

We have too much selfish love of ourselves and material things rather than selfless love of others

What is Augustine's pear story?

Stealing a pear just due to the pleasure of sin. We are corrupted and can sin for sin's sake.

Why do we still choose our sin?

We have free will - when concupiscence takes over, we want and will our sin as our will is not externally controlled.

How could you counter Augustine's view on original sin from a modern POV?

Science - there is no fall, we evolved. Thus, if original sin is just biblical symbolism, makes no sense to reduce our nature to it.

Why would some defend original sin despite questions around its validity? (Chesterton)

You can empirically observe it exists even if not literally caused by two people. C.K. Chesterton said you could see sin in the street

Why does Chesterton's defence of original sin fail?

Crime and violence have fallen as humanity has developed, and thus sin. This proves there is no original sin as if temptation is irresistible we could not morally improve.

How does Pelagius argue evil can be explained?

Social conditioning - we are "educated in evil". It is based on our nurture, not our nature like Augustine suggests.

How would Freud respond to Augustine's pear story?

Society forces us to feel frustrated over repressing instincts - rebelling against social control feels good in itself.

What experience drove Pelagius to believe there is no original sin?

Pelagius travelled to Augustine's part of the world - Romans were more sinful than in Britain. Sin is culture and upbringing, saying it is 'innate' is an excuse to justify it.

Assuming there is some innate selfishness/temptations to us, how could we explain it from a modern perspective?

Apply Occam's razor - evolution is a more simple explanation.

What does original sin do?

Damns us to hell - predestination

Why can we never be good enough or do anything to deserve heaven?

We are corrupted by Adam and Eve's choices

How can we get to heaven if we can never be good enough or do anything that will make us deserving?

If God grants us his gift of grace, inner sanctification that allows salvation

How are we capable of preserving faith?

We can only preserve faith in Jesus via God's grace - being thankful and accepting of Jesus' sacrifice is required to be saved by it and receive Grace.

When is grace granted according to Augustine?

Before birth, as birth causes original sin - there is nothing someone who has been born can do to deserve grace. Psalm 139:13 "Knit in mothers womb".

God either grants grace, predestining us to heaven, or does not causing us to be damned to hell by original sin.

How would Augustine's view of grace be challenged?

It is not loving or fair of an omnibenevolent God to condemn us to hell due to actions of supposed ancestors. It is unrealistic to say this is decided before birth as our free will/life actions can influence our sin.

How did Pelagius oppose Augustine's view of grace?

We had nothing to do with Adam and Eve's disobedience - it is not fair to punish us.

How may Augustine still be right even if wrong about grace?

Even if saying we are all guilty of Adam and Eve's choices is too extreme, he could still be right that we deserve punishment for sin in the afterlife.

Why does Augustine fail overall in his argument around predestination?

It is not a person's fault if they are supposedly cursed to do sinful - a loving God could not think a child deserves to die of cancer then go to hell. We cannot deserve hell for actions out of our control.

What is wrong overall with Augustine's moral theology?

It supports an indefensible view of moral responsibility which is incompatible with omnibenevolence

How did Pelagius critique Augustine as unbiblical?

If Augustine was right about original sin then we are too corrupted to do any good.

The Bible is full of God telling us to be good and Jesus doing good. It makes no sense for God to command us to be good if we are unable to do so, therefore we must be able to do good.

Why did Pelagius feel Augustine was disrespecting God?

Augustine was calling God ignorant, as why would he command good if we cannot do good - this would make God unmindful, however he is omniscient so that is impossible.

What did Pelagius feel about human nature?

We have been gifted free will by God - this must be free from original sin.

How would Augustine respond to Pelagius?

We can do good - only if grace granted. Grace saves us and predestines us to heaven, giving us the power to be good. Those with grace can follow the Bible, so it makes sense for God to command.

Why would Pelagius be unsatisfied with Augustine's response?

Augustine is suggesting Jesus' teachings were only suited to the minority of his audience predestined to heaven.

This does not fit with Jesus who preached to all, including sinners.

Luke 5:32 - "I have come not to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance"

What did Jesus say about sinners?

He clearly says he will help sinners, implying they can be helped and not predestined to hell as Augustine suggests.

Jesus says those who have not been gifted grace before birth are his audience, not those with grace.

Therefore, Augustine contradicts

the Bible as the Bible is not just for those gifted grace.

What was concordia before the fall?

Harmony, co-existence in relationship with God without suffering or desire

How did human nature change after the fall?

We were made mortal, given negativity & hierarchy, predestined to hell and cursed with painful birth

What did our greed towards God cause?

Infinite Qualitative Distinction, Epistemic Distance

What state of human nature did the fall destroy?

Concordia - perfect eternal harmony

After the fall, our nature was cursed with _ and _ desires rather than _ / _ love

pain, material, eternal, godly

What emotions could we have after the fall?

Negativity e.g. guilt and embarrassment

What virtue did we hold towards God and others pre-fall?

Obedience

Why are we so far below God now?

We used our free will to be disobedient of God and thus were cursed

Psalm 8:5

You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour.

Genesis 1:27

In the image of God he created them, male and female he created them

What does Genesis 1:27 suggest?

We were all made like God, in a state of equality and harmony.

Genesis 1:28

Be fruitful and multiply, rule over fish in the sea, birds in the sky and every living creature on the ground.

What does Genesis 1:28 suggest?

God gave us power and trust over the world. Also for us to reproduce out of friendship, not out of lust.

What has changed since Genesis 1?

We are unequal and lustful, we have broken our trust and obedience. We were greedy of God and tried to know of good and evil, separating us from him and giving us cupiditas.

Genesis 2:5 - how does this differ from Genesis 1?

"No shrub had yet appeared" - timeline of creation messy, does this suggest it was metaphorical and meant to be interpreted?

Genesis 2:7

God formed a man from the dust and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life

What does Genesis 2:7 suggest?

God made us alive, we were made ex-nihilo and given a unique position over earth.

How have we changed since Genesis 2?

We are now no longer good as have used our free will to betray God's trust - we will now return to the 'dust' and be sinful, causing desire and disharmony.

How are embarrassment, guilt and blame shown in Genesis 3 (three quotes)?

"They realised they were naked", "They hid from the lord God", "The woman you put here with me"

How is hierarchy shown in Genesis 3?

"Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you"

How is mortality shown in Genesis 3?

"You will eat the plants of the field until you return to the ground... For dust you are, and to dust you will return"

How is predestination shown in Genesis 3?

"A flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the tree of life" - Heaven is guarded, we will all go to hell until Jesus

What does Rousseau say about nature?

Humans are generous and only act otherwise when a circumstance causes them to. "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains". Purpose of society should be to regain natural freedom as just, supportive, social beings.

What does Hobbes say about nature?

Humans are selfish and brutish in their natural state. We are different from animals as we recognise that cooperation and kindness makes live tolerable, however this often has to be enforced by laws and threats to work.

"The life of man, solitary, poor, brutish and short"

What does Foucalt say about nature?

Human nature is taught to us based on society. It often happens to be what rulers want from their citizens.

What does Marx say about nature?

There is no innate human nature - we work and create to survive and all else is a product of society. We are only called "greedy" and "selfish" as that is what capitalism encourages.

How was original sin a 'double death'?

It killed the friendship between god and humans, and also made us mortal

How does Augustine feel we can reach earthly peace (not heavenly peace) in society?

Striving for virtues like self-control and respect, which wouldn't have been needed in the pre-fall perfection. There is a greater peace attainable, though - the Church can help with this.

How is Augustine's criticism of sexual desire unfair and hypocritical?

Sex is a part of being human - maybe Augustine was too consumed by his own guilt and early life where he find it difficult to control his sexual desires.

Why/how does God have the power to give grace?

His goodness is the greatest i.e. summum bonum - this is compared to the temporary goodness of the world which is nothing compared to eternal happiness in God's presence.

How is Augustine pessimistic?

We are tainted from birth with little opportunity to stray from our fallen state - we cannot escape desire or be truly free.

How is Augustine optimistic?

God's grace is given to some undeserving humans - Jesus/God the Son died to save us. The church exists to help us including through baptism. Faith points us to summum bonum.

What is the 'happy fault' that some modern Catholics speak of?

Adam's sin meant that the inexpressibly greater blessings of Jesus could be given - Jesus' miraculous resurrection overcomes all pessimism.

How may some support Augustine's supposedly unbiblical views on grace?

Grace is not arbitrary - maybe God can make the choice as he is omniscient and knows of our lives/actions before they begin.

Grace is offered to all, so Jesus (God) preached to all - predestination only comes in as part of how we respond to God's grace, which God already knows.

What is free will in relation to Genesis?

It made Adam capable to obey God (A virtue) but also to let him sin

Why do we have Free Will?

We are made imago dei - it is god-given

Why is evil entirely our fault?

We misused our free will - it can't be God's fault as he is perfect

What four things did we have before the fall?

Free will, Concordia, Caritas, Cupiditas

Did we have caritas or cupiditas before the fall?

Both, but we chose caritas as part of obedience to God

What did we have post-fall?

Concupiscence and Cupiditas

What is cupiditas in terms of free-will?

It is an error of our will. We always had it before the fall but never used it.

What used to drive the will and what now drives the will

Used to be caritas and concordia, now cupiditas and concupiscence

How is sin passed on?

Sex

Where is sin present?

Seminally in the loins of Adam

How is the soul passed on?

Sperm

Whose fault is it that men have sex and desire?

Women

What does Romans 7:14-25 show?

Paul does not do what he wants, rather what he does not want. The sinful body causes us to go against the soul and God's law. His soul loves God bu is waging war against a dominant, corrupted sinful body.

What does the soul represent in Romans 7:22?

Eternal life and love of God

What does the body represent compared to the soul in Romans 7:24?

His body is sinful and will die, but his soul will move on.

Why is original sin Eve's fault?

She is the temptress who made Adam pass the sin on via sex

Lump of sin

Una Massa Peccati

What does it mean that we are una massa peccati?

We are born without redeeming qualities - we can never deserve God and cannot live pureply.

What does Pelagius believe about Adam?

He is one bad example - if we learn from his mistake, we can live pure lives

If we can learn from Adam as Pelagius suggests, what notable issue arises and how can we solve it?

What is the point of Jesus? May be to guide Christians in right direction and emphasise God's salvation, grace and love for all.

How was Jesus exempt from effect of original sin?

Immaculate conception - No man impregnated Mary so sin was not passed on.

Why did people still sin even after Jesus?

Although we can now reach heaven, our body is still sinful.

According to Augustine, what is the only positive thing about life?

Jesus - He bridged the gap between humans and God, the world, others and ourselves through love, self-reflection and heaven

After the fall, how was our respective relationships with God, Ourselves, Others and the World damaged?

God - Epistemic Distance

Ourselves - Concupiscence

Others - Hierarchy

the World - Work and Mortality

What is John 3:16?

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. Those who believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.

What are we at the mercy of after the fall?

Concupiscence

If we use our free will to choose the path of cupiditas over caritas, what do we reach?

Concupiscence

What does Augustine advise on gender and sexuality?

Women are passive, should be celibate after enough children. This decision should be made by the man.

What was society like pre-fall?

Led by shepherds, not kings - ruling over creation rather than eachother.

What is society like post-fall?

We need authority to control our sinful natures. It is a necessity, not a virtue, that we contribute to a well ordered society.