T he title of this article looks like a literary flourish and in ways it is. In his Timaeus Plato writes that the One "was good; and for the good there never has been any envy concerning anyone."1 Athanasius of Alexandria echoes this in his early dual work Contra Gentes-De Incarnatione when, in a rather literary way, he records that "a good being would be envious of no one; so [the God of all who is good and excellent by nature] envies nobody existence but rather wishes everyone to exist" {Contra Gentes 41). He especially reflects Plato when he pens that "God is good—or rather the source of goodness—and the good has no envy for anything" {De Incarnatione 3). For Athanasius, these are indeed literary flourishes that embellish his early writing concerning the creative act of God; but they are more than literary flourishes for they focus for Athanasius important insights into the nature of both God and God's creation. …show more content…
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With each religion comes things to learn and understand. Some things are easy to grasp onto, while others can be impossible to comprehend. Why was it necessary for Jesus to be human? How did Jesus overcome the most powerful of human leaders? Why did God send His only son for us? In the book On the Incarnation by Athanasius, these questions are thoroughly explained. Beginning with the creation of man, God promised to protect and care for us. This promise He fulfills through Jesus His son.
Envy can be specifically linked to the Ten Commandments as it is cited as “neither shall you desire.anything that belongs to your neighbor”. Aquinas, Italian Dominican friar and catholic priest, recorded ways of committing Gluttony: eating too soon, eating too expensively, eating too much, eating too eagerly, eating too daintily and eating wildly. God repudiated the act of Greed for being a behavior in which men are too concentrated on earthly thoughts. It is widely known within the Catholic culture that Lucifer fell from Heaven and transformed into Satan due to Pride, as he desired to compete with God. Sloth and Pride are both seen as a rejection of God’s gifts; Sloth being the rejection to utilize talent, and Wrath being a rejection of God’s talent to create life, which explains why suicide is such a serious sin.
Taylor’s “From God’s Determinations” and Wheatley; s “Thoughts on the Work of Providence” project the feelings of love, faith, and dedication they have toward their religion. Both texts are fine examples of two men writing how they feel, giving accounts of what they believe, and explaining how God, a supernatural being, has played an important role in the shaping their lives through the many acts of miracle He has performed such as creating the Earth. To explain in further detail, both Taylor and Wheatley are constantly inserting examples of what their God has done throughout each text. It is made obvious to the reader that both men are very spiritual
What is the good? How do we know what the good is? How do we attain the good? What are the major obstacles in attaining the good? These questions have a great practical importance for individual as well as collective life. However, disagreements emerge when it comes to answering these questions. Throughout history, philosophers, theologians and other thinkers have tried to resolve these disagreements by providing their own and ‘new’ understanding of what is Good? In this essay, I will explain how Aristotle and Augustine have understood this ideal and how they have answered these questions. In the first two parts of the essay I will look into the conceptual framework of these two philosophers and try to explain how they have answered the above mentioned questions. In the last part, I will try to answer this question: which of the two philosophers I agree with and why?
total good of the man. Plato holds that if the desire were truly for a good
Plato does not argue whether it is more moral to live justly, but rather whether it is more beneficial, whether the just life will make one happier.
To most of us, jealousy has a negative connotation. But, what about godly jealousy? “How can something seemingly so negative be an attribute of God?” I thought to myself while meditating on 2 Corinthians Ch.
A Philosophical Criticism of Augustine and Aquinas: The Relationship of Soul and Body The relationship of the human soul and physical body is a topic that has mystified philosophers, scholars, scientists, and mankind as a whole for centuries. Human beings, who are always concerned about their place as individuals in this world, have attempted to determine the precise nature or state of the physical form. They are concerned for their well-being in this earthly environment, as well as their spiritual well-being; and most have been perturbed by the suggestion that they cannot escape the wrongs they have committed while in their physical bodies.