augustine

Question 1

manicheism’s influence on augustine

Answer 1

• allowed him to eb a follower of christ
• sex is the work of the devil
• we should use reason to understand
• suffering is not caused by god.

Question 2

pelagius

Answer 2

did not beleive original sin caused universal guilt
more that humans have sufficient free will to overcome personal sin, as god has equipped humans with potential, volition and realisation.
adam’s sin was just an example of choosing right/wrong
- can overcome weakness of will through external grace (jesus is source) and reason

AUGUSTINE OPPOSED HIM.
Henry Chadwick thought that they have in common as they both believe humans are born with the propensity to sin BUT Pelagius thinks this ability is contingent on free will.

Question 3

maximilian kolbe

Answer 3

in concentration camp, sacrificed his life for a man with a family
comforted the 9 men to the last 2 weeks when they were starved to death.

Question 4

rousseau

Answer 4

humans are essentially generous and only act otherwise when circumstance requires
“man is born free, and everywhere else, his is in chain”
must rediscover the “state of nature” to gain cooperation and peace

Question 5

hobbes

Answer 5

“state of nature” - humans are not naturally cooperative but “selfish and brutish”. the purpose of life is to conquer the brutish side thorugh reason in order to create fair and just societies.

Question 6

genesis 1:27

Answer 6

“god created mankind in his own image”
= god is the giver, so we must be stewards of the earth and be good.

Question 7

augustine on creation

Answer 7

• god deliberately planned and created the world to be stewards.
• imageo dei, we share physical likeness

Question 8

caritas

Answer 8

selfless love of others
eg agape. this leads to love of god

Question 9

cupiditas

Answer 9

a selfish love and love of earthly possessions

Question 10

corinthians 13:11

Answer 10

“live in peace; and the god of peace and love will be with you”

Question 11

concordia

Answer 11

State before the fall where adam and eve lived in perfect harmony.
adam and eve were likened to friendship and no sinful desires like lust, allowing for perfect rational control over themselves

Question 12

genesis 3:15

Answer 12

the fall
“i will put enmity between you and the woman”
loss of concordia in the fall

Question 13

romans 7:15

Answer 13

“for if i now do what i do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me”

= he doesnt understand his actions, he often ends up succumbing to evil as sin resides in him
= AKRASIA

Question 14

Akrasia

Answer 14

weak, divided will. actign against your better judgement.

Question 15

concupiscence

Answer 15

unable to control desires such as libido or appetitive aspect of soul.
careful to not accept the manichaean arguement that the body is evil or neoplatonic version that the body belongs to the material world so is imperfect.

= irresistible sinful desires which overpower our rational control

Question 16

romans 7:14

Answer 16

“i am sold as a slave to sin”

Question 17

romans 5:12

Answer 17

“sin came into the world through one man

Question 18

augustine double death

Answer 18

god killed our relationship with god and 2nd death is what we live through now and the punishment for the first disobedience.a

Question 19

augustine book

Answer 19

the city of god

Question 20

augustine quote adam loins

Answer 20

“seminally present in the loins of adam
== transmission of sin, sex is tainted

Question 21

city of god

Answer 21

ultimate destination where you can attain heavenly society and peace.
“ecclesia” is the perfect way to life.

Question 22

geneal critics

Answer 22

• liberal christians
• science

Question 23

kant

Answer 23

there are powerful human emotions but there is no such thing as sin, it is just a lack of reason.

Question 24

Niebuhr

Answer 24

post-enlightenment thinkers have made it unfashionable to talk about sin, it is wrong to think that reason can bring about just and fair societies. grace is needed as our reason alone is shite.

gives examples of evil in the modern world eg holocaust, slavery, wars) demonstrate we cannot cure our propensity for immoral actions

Question 25

freud

Answer 25

turn to psychoanalysis to make your life better and more stable. teachings on sex are contrary to freud who wanted to stop the repression of sexual guilt PRODUCTS OF OUR ENVIRONMENTS

Question 26

dawkins

Answer 26

augustine's reliance on genesis is absurd and his teachings on sexual guilt and original sin are irrational and dangerous universe is 6000 yrs old no thanks pal so that undermines everything about creation. also disproves "seminally present in loins of adam"

Question 27

strengths of augustine

Answer 27

- universality - all human beings are flawed = equal - non-dualist, god is not presented as half a bad guy

Question 28

sartre

Answer 28

"existence precedes essence" = we all have the capacity to make good choices, humans are solely responsible for their choices

Question 29

example proving augstine

Answer 29

stanford prison experiment - some people abuse power and authority if they can.

Question 30

locke

Answer 30

we are born as "tabula rasa" - clean slates and there is nothing distinctive about our nature.

Question 31

essay plan

Answer 31

- augustine akrasia, struggle between good and concupiscence, reference his early libido strengthened by romans 1:14 "sold as a slave to sin" strengthened by pornography etc markets who thrive on cupiditas (lustful love) - Rousseau man in born free, everywhere else he is in chains, forced into compeition = sin. reinforced by Kolbe - aug on human nature, fall genesis 3, concordia, caritas, then double death supported by Hobbes selfish and brutish supported by Niebuhr that we are unable to cure propensity for sin thru reason - modern science dawkins genesis is untrue 6000 years?!, disproves seminally present in loins of adam. - freud - socially conditioned. by our environment! - others eg sartre and lock, no such thing as human nature - tabula rasa and existence precedes essence.

Question 32

why is the fall our fault and original sin

Answer 32

an omnibenevolent god would not have made us corrupt so the corruption must have been our fault

Question 33

pear story

Answer 33

he stole a pear not to eat but kust for the pleasure of sinning = we can desire to sin just for its own sake

Question 34

scientific counter-arguments to fall

Answer 34

genetic diversity shows its not possible for all humnaity to have come from jsut people the use of the term "Lamarckism" to describe the discredited theory of passing on sins

Question 35

Stephen Pinker modern sociological evidence

Answer 35

humanity has improved in its rate of violence and crime and thus sin violence has declined in modern society even taking WW1 and 2 into account

Question 36

grace

Answer 36

- John "those who believe in jesus shall not perish but have eternal life." - original sin inhibits faith, only through purifying grace are we capable of persevering as christians.

Question 37

summum bonum

Answer 37

highest good - which for augustine is getting to heaven due to god's grace