St. Augustine and the Topic of Evil Aurelius Augustinus, or better known now as Saint Augustine, was born in 354 A.D. in North Africa. Saint Augustine is one of the most influential converts of Christianity, and through his works, such as The Confessions, he discusses his life, and describes his experiences from infancy all the way through to his later years as an adult. As stated in the Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Saint Augustine was born into a world that was no longer at peace, and the Church was split, and it is Aurelius whom of which is credited with providing the systematization of the Church’s doctrine and policy. Through The Confessions, Saint Augustine discusses how he came to learn of God and further discusses his relationship with God. Throughout The Confessions, Aurelius shares many examples in which he veered of the path of good and struggled continually to keep a relationship with God. Although Saint Augustine is credited with being a highly influential model in the Christian faith, he did not always live a life of good and in fact did not convert fully to Christianity until his middle life. Throughout the work, it is easily noticed that Saint Augustine continually struggled with the concept of good versus evil. Aurelius seemed to always explore the origin of good versus evil and whether or not evil really existed or if it was just a choice brought on by man. This fascination of good and evil is continually seen throughout all of The Confessions written by Saint Augustine. As previously stated Saint Augustine wasn’t always a Saint. Before he fully converted to Christianity, Saint Augustine encountered numerous acts, in which his decisions were not always that of a righteous Saint. The first noticeable co... ... middle of paper ... ...ce again the question arises, was it evil that caused this or simply the decision of man. All the way up until Saint Augustine’s full conversion to Christianity, he continued to struggle with evil or sinful acts. After his conversion to Christianity, is when he reflects on his previous decisions in life and gives his confession. This is where the fascination of evil and its origin become clear. It seems that Aurelius real question is whether or not evil actually exist or as stated numerous times, it is just the decision of man to commit sinful acts. Depending on who is answering the question one may get many answers. Was evil created to temp man, or is it just the decision of man, which cause evil to occur? It seems to Saint Augustine that God created all things, therefore all things are good and it is the decision of man that corrupts these things and causes evil.
St. Augustine considers his mother as a crucial factor in his conversion to Catholicism. However, through the analysis of his confessions, it leads me to believe that St. Augustine’s mother was not a decisive figure. Monica was in the background keeping him in thought and prayer, however Augustine’s watershed moments came as a result of his own examination of readings as well as his conversations with his friends and mentors. Therefore, I argue that Monica had delayed Augustine’s baptism and it was his own experiences that allowed him to come to God. Baptizing a baby at birth was a common practice during the time when Augustine was born.
When reading ancient texts, they are often told through an omniscient point of view, such as The Odyssey or Gilgamesh, or they are written through another person’s perspective, such as The Republic. Confessions differs in that it is told from a first-person point of view, which makes it uniquely fascinating because we get to learn firsthand how Augustine’s actions, thoughts, and beliefs affected him. In comparison with the other, often mythical, texts, Augustine is a humanized perspective into the world—neither divine nor idolized; his story resembles that of many others as a man who grew to seek both conviction and resolution in his choices. The Confessions of Saint Augustine is, at its core, the journey of an everyman through his life—a concept not far removed from contemporary media. It is the culmination of his trials, tribulations, and efforts as a young man whose development influenced by the immense possibilities of the spiritual world that surrounded him.
In “On Free Choice of the Will”, Augustine indicates the importance of his beliefs and opinions of human nature and of God. He thinks as greatly of God as possible and centralizes his thoughts of goodness with the concept of being/form (God); he also gives a description of how God’s rightness can be interpreted clearly through the evil doings of the world. One of the biggest and most difficult problems facing people is the problem of doing evil. If God is being, unchanging, eternal and all-powerful, then how is it that people do evil? Augustine tries to solve the problem by examining the “source of evil” and “what evil is”. He explores the ways in which to live a happy life and an evil-free life by having a perfectly ordered soul—a life willed by the virtues—through free will. In the pursuit to find out how it is that evil exists, Augustine explores how people sin with inordinate desire as the driving force and free will. He lists the things we need to possess in order to sin and to live a happy life—goods of the will and temporal goods—that is, one cannot sin without temporal goods, inordinate desire, and free will. In the same way, one cannot live a happy life without goods of the will and free will.
Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian philosopher who was born in what is now modern day Algeria and his writings have been a great influence on the development of Western Christianity. He was a bishop in the Hippo Regius of Roman Africa during the Patristic Era and is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the West (Mendelson). In his famous writing “Confessions”, Augustine recounts the first 35 years of his life and tracks his spiritual development and acceptance of Christianity. Books 1-9 are autobiographical, while Books 10-13 are analytical and interpretational of his faith. Book 10 of his confessions explores memory while 11 through 13 are his detailed interpretations of Genesis, in which the creation of the world is explained.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
You prompt us yourself to find satisfaction in appraising you, since you made us tilted toward you, and our heart is unstable until stabilized in you. Quintessentially, this quote from Confessions symbolizes Augustine’s perilous journey towards Christianity. Although appearing earlier in what is colloquially known as the “first autobiography”, Augustine expounds on this very idea throughout his writings. Whether that includes his attraction and disdain for Manichaeism or his affinity with Neo-Platonism, one could argue this quote acted as the foundation of his inquisitions of these pre-modern dogmatic sects. Augustine, despite his perils with intellectual paradoxes, sought to understand these rigid entities that seemed to have variant positions on God’s goodness and temporal nature. Although Augustine eventually found refuge in Catholicism, nevertheless, he continued to explore the relationship between Gods benevolence and human dependence, even until his death.
Saint Augustine’s Confessions are a diverse mix of autobiography, philosophy, and interpretation of the Christian Bible. The first nine Books of the work follow the story of Augustine 's life, from his birth (354 A.D.) up to the events that took place just after his conversion to Catholicism (386 A.D.). Born and raised in Thagaste, in eastern Algeria, he has one brother named Navigius, and two sisters. His father, Patricus, a small landowner and an official of the local government is still a pagan. Monica, his mother is a devout Christian. Augustine starts off by praising to God and that it is the natural desire of all men. Yet Augustine does not have a lot of knowledge about God because he felt that he was powerless for God to come to him
Saint Augustine, and Maria Boulding. The Confessions. Ed. John E. Rotelle. 2nd ed. Hyde Park, NY: New City, 2012. Print.
Augustine believed that the original sin of our ancestors, Adam and Eve, is the product of pride. Augustine describes pride as the end result of one becoming too pleased with themselves, the consequences on one relying on their own accordance as oppose to that of God. Adam and Eve were so content in the beautiful home God provided for them that Eve but apparently she based on the Christian world views of this chapter humans are sinful creatures with unlimited capacity for doing evil. We are inclined towards a secular world, because that is where we live. The spiritual realm is where we inspire to be, and we aim to imitate Jesus, but constantly fall short due to our unlimited capacity for evil
One of the many questions Augustine raised is ‘what is evil’? Committing an act of evil is doing something malicious; the act is done with the intent to cause harm. However, there is a problem with this definition
When Augustine joined the Manicheans he was faced with questions about evil and its origin which allowed the group to teach Augustine the Manichean ideas of evils source. The Manichean belief is not explicitly explained by Augustine (maybe because the people of Augustine’s time already knew about the Manicheans). The texts glossary explains the allusion by explaining that the Manicheans attributed evil to an evil force (Satan) that is in combat with God (Confessions 330). This evil is thought to have elements which are also evil and in one of these, the human body was included, meaning humans are inherently evil (Confessions Glossary. 330). The inherent evil conflicts with Augustine’s view which attributes the origin of evil to a will favoring lesser things, because this claims that “Human beings therefore, are not ultimately responsible for their own actions” (Confessions Glossary. p. 330). This would mean that God had created evil things, which is in direct conflict with Gods good nature and evil is caused by the divine. Augustine ultimately rejected the M...
Augustine. “Confessions”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 1113-41. Print.
Augustine conversation with his friend Evodius whether, "God is the cause of evil." This challenging question is one that I remember from my early teachings in Catholic school. Augustine clearly defines the difference of the evil people suffer and the evil they commit. The early philosopher talks about how God gives man the free choice and it is up to man to choose the correct path.
“Please tell me: isn’t God the cause of evil?” (Augustine, 1). With this question to Augustine of Hippo, Evodius begins a philosophical inquiry into nature of evil. Augustine, recently baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan, began writing his treatise On Free Choice of the Will in 387 C.E. This work laid down the foundation for the Christian doctrine regarding the will’s role in sinning and salvation. In it, Augustine and his interlocutor investigate God’s existence and his role in creating evil. They attempt not only to understand what evil is, and the possibility of doing evil, but also to ascertain why God would let humans cause evil. Central to the premise of this entire dialogue is the concept of God, as relates to Christianity; what is God, and what traits separate Him from humans? According to Christianity, God is the creator of all things, and God is good; he is omnipotent, transcendent, all-knowing, and atemporal- not subject to change over time- a concept important to the understanding of the differences between this world and the higher, spiritual realm He presides over. God’s being is eidos, the essence which forms the basis of humans. With God defined, the core problem being investigated by Augustine and Evodius becomes clear. Augustine states the key issue that must be reconciled in his inquiry; “we believe that everything that exists comes from the one God, and yet we believe that God is not the cause of sins. What is troubling is that if you admit that sins come from… God, pretty soon you’ll be tracing those sins back to God” (Augustine, 3).
In the beginning, God created the world. He created the earth, air, stars, trees and mortal animals, heaven above, the angels, every spiritual being. God looked at these things and said that they were good. However, if all that God created was good, from where does un-good come? How did evil creep into the universal picture? In Book VII of his Confessions, St. Augustine reflects on the existence of evil and the theological problem it poses. For evil to exist, the Creator God must have granted it existence. This fundamentally contradicts the Christian confession that God is Good. Logically, this leads one to conclude evil does not exist in a created sense. Augustine arrives at the conclusion that evil itself is not a formal thing, but the result of corruption away from the Supreme Good. (Augustine, Confessions 7.12.1.) This shift in understanding offers a solution to the problem of evil, but is not fully defended within Augustine’s text. This essay will illustrate how Augustine’s solution might stand up to other arguments within the context of Christian theology.