augustine on human nature - main notes

augustine background

• 4/5th century

• pessimistic with a focus on human failure

• ‘city of god’ vs ‘city of men’

• believed that humans weren’t perfect and that we could thus never achieve salvation

• first person to come up with orginal sin

concupisence

• the idea that our natural perfected state has been wounded so we are bad and are always inclinging towards sin

predestination

• the idea that god chooses and guides some people to salvation

agustine on gensis 2-3

• god creates humans in his likeness (image)

• human beings are made by god so are good however we also have free will (this is symbolised by the tree in gensis)

• humans live in garden of eden and had a close relationship with god

• perfect harmony with living things and god walked amoung them

• the human body, will and reason were all in perfect harmony

• links to plato’s chariot to explain the constant battle between reason and will

humanity pre fall

• adam and eve competely obedient to god

• world was gods creation and perfect

• humans live in harmony with all of creation

• equailty and tranquility

• will is pure and controlled by reason

• humans have a close and intimate relationship with god

• sinless

• had everything they needed

humanity post the fall

• pain and suffering entered the world

• eve punished with lust and subordination to adam, defining post-male and female relationships

• concipisence

• humans and animals become enimies

• became aware of good and evil

• corruption of will

• loose their relationship with god

orginal sin catholic church quote

• it is a sin ‘contracted’ and not committed a state not an act’

post capsaicin world

• effects of adams sin can be seen through a continuous state of rebellion

• can be felt everywhere, e.g a lack of sexual control

• lack of control which the soul has over sin

orginal sin

• ‘sin came into the world through man’ st paul

• ontological condition of human existance not just a description of our actions

• no one can be truly good they still appear in the characteristcs of OG sin, double death and transmission

double death

• the first death is adams rebellion which kills the relationship between humans and god - symbolised through adam and eves awareness of their nakedness infront of god

• the second death is the mortal state of every human - ‘form dust you are and to dust you will return

transmission of sin

• chain of disasters

• adams children have his rebellious nature as conspience is passed down through generations as being sexually transmitted

• ‘that orginal perversion a kind of corruption at the root

effects on human socities

• before the fall humainty had friendship and leadership was gentle

• post fall due to the corrupt nature of humans authoirty and control was needed over them for example slavery

• society needs earthly peace, and to attain this the church is aviable to guide people

strengths of augustine on OG SIN

• sexual desires play a large part of human life

• RCC humans are divided and need help of god to develop

• corresponds with experiences of life

• freud and libido

• palagian belief is optimistic (human effort can bring perfection) so Augustine allows hope for gods grace

• body, will and reason can be at tension with one another

weaknesses of augustine on orginal sin

• literal interpretation and unfair to be tainted from an act from so long ago

• no space for humans to develop morally

• evolution implies we are moving towards perfection

• Dawkins - negative approach which has led to human suffering and an empahsis on sexualty

• paul tillich - religious language is ment to be interpreted symbolically

• Dawkins - irrational and dangerous, absurd to think that corruption of all of humainty relies on only two individuls

• satre - creare our own nature

OG sin - view on women

• ‘women not created in gods image but destroyed it’

• eve was the one who encouraged adam to sin, this thus became an achritype for all women

• note- augustine was obsessed with sex in his youth so could he shifting his guilt onto women

thomas hobbes

• ‘human life is solitary, poor, nasty and brutish and short’

• natural state of a human is bad and society thus saves us making us more civilised

Jacques rosseau

• ‘man is born free and everywhere he is in chains’

• it is society and civilsation which has messed human nature up - we are all born naturally good

• augustine disagree with both… both fail to recognise the importance of the turing point of the fall

gods grace

• is gods generious, undeserving and free act of love for the world - expressed ultimately through the sacrafice of jesus

augustine on gods grace

• our free will is limited due to conscipence

• cannot choose right or wrong options thus we need gods grace to guide us

• some people are elected to go to heaven

• dont deserve it but it is the only thing which can save people from hell

• summun bomum → the highest amount of goodness which is the trait of god

pessismistic view in human nature

• we are tainted from the mintue we are born

• little opportunity for humainty to develop

• concupience is too strong

• no truly free beings

optimistic view on human nature

• gods grace is undeserving

• JC sacarfice on the cross

• church - provides support for christains on their journey

• faith directs towards the summun bomum

• RCC ‘happy fault of adam’

strengths and weakness of gods grace

• s- optomistic outlook

• s- summun bomum

• s - gods grace allows for JC who bridged the gap between humans and god

• w- misuse of gods grace

• w- why did we need JC if god was always going to forgive us ]

• w- evolution arg

augustine vs pelagius

• pelagius felt as if agustines views were leading to immoral behaviour

• RCC upholds augustine - so pro infant baptism

• pelagius believed that it was possible to lead to moral life

• modern undestanding - evolution

• not literally true the events in bible

A VS P human nature

A→ damaged by fall, sinful

P→ cant have a flawed nature if we can be holy

A VS P sin

• a → we are inncapable of avioding sin humans have a tendency away from goodness

• p → humans dont have to sin, its freely choosen ; humans can be good

A VS P guilt and og sin

• a → fall transmits guilt, humans are sinful from birth

• p → we are responsible for our own sin

A VS P death

a → consqeunce of sin

p → biological nessisaty

A VS P grace

a → humans cannot do a good deed its all gods grace

p→ assists people to think right, but humans carry out the actions so are responsible

A VS P salvation

a→ free and a gift from god, which he rewards how he chooses too

p→ humans use there own free will to choose god (down plays grace)

A VS P suffering

• a→ deserved

• p → makes god seem arbitary for punishing the innocent

A VS P. god

a → benevolecne through grace, not his fault there is evil

p→ unjust for god to condem those for something which they cannot help

A VS P jesus

• a → expression of gods grace

• p → good people before the new testimated before jc bought salvation