Augustine Free Will

In the book Confessions Augustine seeks to find out why and how evil exists in the world and what role god plays in the existence of evil. Not entirely convinced that evil exist or is what Manicheanism speaks of, mainly being that God is incapable of preventing the existence of evil. Augustine investigates the existence of evil by looking at two aspects, the nature of evil and free will, and with free will the ability to make decisions which result in sins. Both of these causes are investigated by Augustine in providing a conclusion which reassures him that god is all knowing, powerful, and good. Through his investigation Augustine concludes that evil does not exist, but is more so the absence of good in things. Augustine proves this by claiming

Augustine states, in his attempts to understand the free choice of the will and how it makes one do wrong to only suffer god’s judgment, this is something he does not understand why God allows to happen (p.113). Understanding he can will or not will himself to do things, Augustine’s question on the matter revolve around why he can do wrong when his wrongs have consequences. Augustine develops an early principle of the corruptible and incorruptible. This idea pertaining to the nature of evil and free will focuses on the belief that while god is incorruptible as he is all knowing, powerful, and good, however, lesser forms such as humans are easily corruptible (p.114). This principle enables Augustine to create an idea pertaining to man that due to man’s free will and powers conflicting with one another, this conflict result in acts of sin that neglect what is good. But only through free will is this possible as without free will it is not, however, the complications of if there was no free will would also conflict with God’s creation and how he intended things to be.

Augustine through his time reading the Platonic books provides an interesting observation in his investigation findings, such as the Egyptian practices of worshipping animals over the creator. Accepting that God is the creator of everything, Augustine is quick to discourage how God’s first people in Egypt were less concerned with God and more so in the belief that animals were idols of worships. This neglect of God, ultimately, reflect sins that are committed. Assessing that free will is closely connected to the many sins which are committed due to humans becoming corrupt through their pursuit of things that are not in good nature. Much of the evils which exist in the world can be tied to this cause as in man’s pursuit of the many things he desires, with one being wanting to be the same as God, a sin is committed as God is then in this process neglected as the creator. An example of this can be seen in Augustine’s mention of the wicked and their rejection of Christ and his teachings, as even with an awareness of God as the creator and his son as the teacher, and a representation of God, the wicked reject the word of God because of their pride and lack of humility when they proclaim themselves wise and all knowing. (p.122).