Early Church Augustine of Hippo - One philosopher that I found interesting was Augustine and his involvement in the early church. "Augustine is acknowledged as having been one of the most important influences on the development of the western Christianity. The theological system he developed dominated the mediaeval church until the thirteenth century and its influence is still felt today (Bradshaw, 2009)." In researching his life, I found interesting facts that originally he did have a Christian belief system. However, after the death of his mother, he returned to Rome where he by a bishop named Ambrose began teaching him scripture and later who baptized him. What I found extremely interesting is that he was not a fan of Greek literature and in fact disliked many Greek writings. Because of this one fact, he was limited to the language of the Christians, which was Latin. This I also found to be a break from previous philosophers who seem to be great thinkers of Greek society. Augustine also framed the concept of the original sins and just war. Augustine believed that Christians should be passive and peaceful people but he would lay the foundation of terms that a nation should go to war about. 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. The biggest explanation to show that in fact God gives us the choice is that Augustine describes "evil to as a negation and does not have form or substance ... ... middle of paper ... ...f this time period. However, at the same time defined such things like "choices", "freewill' and the "soul". They laid foundation for evolution in the church. Luther, who did not start wanting public attention but received because he said what he saw, this is a very important time for my religion because for you see a denouncement of Papal policies. For Luther did comment the Pope had his finger in the pie. I developed a great deal of admiration after my research on Luther I did for this class. Then finally, there is Marx who based his philosophy not on religion but on economics. Marx ended being one of my favorites because he came up with working theories that could work. He attempted himself to lay the foundation for a perfect utopia society. Marx did have some sobering predictions with society, which in fact in the end may make him right with his theories.
First we will talk about Martin Luther. Martin Luther was born on November 10th, 1438 and died February 18th, 1546, but his actions throughout his life leave a mark in the history world. Luther was a Catholic priest and professor of Theology from Germany. He attended the University of Wittenburg, and there, not only did he earn a doctorate, but he also gained "religious enlightenment". He is, to this day, a very influential person of the past and he changed history forever, but why? The answer is the Protestant Reformation.
After reading St. Augustine’s book it seemed to me that he had very little interest in politics as a whole, but he did seem to have a a great interest on the moral problems that plagued them. The books that make up this work come from one of his previous works entitled, The City of God, in which Augustine discusses many different aspects of the city. Augustine’s view of Christianity in regard to politics was due to the moral decline of the Roman Empire and the effect of this decline on the still faithful Christians. Augustine blamed the pagan gods and their lack of concern for the moral character which defined those who worshiped them. He also makes a reference to Plato’s Republic, in regards to the way Plato wanted to banish the poets from his city in speech. Augustine also felt that there should be strong censorship of the poets when writing about the gods because they made fools out of them. Augustine is also very concerned with the amount of people who in past invasions of their homelands escaped by lying about being Christians and then turned their backs on Christ when the danger had subsided. Augustine’s work also raises the question of why mercy is extended to the pious and ungrateful. Augustine responds by reminding everyone that, “The sun rises upon the good and evil, and the rains fall upon the just and the unjust.” The book also discusses Gods patience with humans and how the choice to repent ones sins lies within the man. He tells how some will recognize...
Martin Luther, was “temperamental, peevish, egomaniacal, and argumentative” (Hooker, www.wsu.edu), but played a pivotal role in history. During Luther's time as a monk, the Catholic Church was selling indulgences. Luther took notice to the corruption and began to reason that men can only get their salvation through Jesus Christ, not the Pope or indulgences, let alone the Church itself. Luther began ...
Along with Voltaire were many other Enlightened thinkers, or philosophes, as they came to be known. A man by the name of Rousseau was also a very influential personality. His essays mainly treated on social inequality and education.
Believing in God, though, lends a problem to the simple rule of justice: how do we give each other their due? Seemingly, war or hostility would not be a part of a Christian's life on earth. Augustine counters by indicating that war may be and is waged by God's commandment. To Augustine, waging war out of obedience to God is very different than to wage war for personal gain. But even wars caused by unselfish humans can be profitable to the faithful through patience and discipline to God.
Marx predicted that religion would disappear as a phenomenon of false (because there is no God, according to Marx), and churches will become museums. All see how the number of churches in the world increases, a church becoming the heavy believers. However, the council rejected Marx, and yet kept his not believing in God.
Based on the book of Genesis, evil first came into the world when Adam and Eve, God’s first human creations, defied him and ate of the forbidden fruit, gaining God’s knowledge. This act was essentially caused by pride and envy; Adam and Eve craved to know what God knows and thus feebly attempting to imitate him through sin. For St. Augustine, imitation of God’s goodness is the cause for all sin. In Book 2 of his Confessions, perturbed by his petty theft, Augustine questions the motivation for his sin. Augustine compares his sin to “knot, which cannot be unravel. Indeed, he never truly reasons out his theft, but his rhetorical journey in order to solve its complexity is still intriguing. Through the use of his characteristic dialect and Neoplatonic
Theologian: In addition to the theological advancements of Mary that were strongly influenced by Pope Pius XII, two other theologians stick out: Karl Rahner and Yves Congar.
The concept of ideology is highly controversial and it has been defined in several ways throughout history. It can be defined as an idea that distinguishes the consciousness of a class at a given historical moment. It also is beliefs adopted for influential purpose of a nation, making them support the status quo. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if we live in a country where everyone had everything equally and there was not a difference in class? In such a society, everyone is equal and there is no privilege which means no high pay and the motivation to succeed in higher levelled jobs such as doctors, lawyers, business owners (everyone owns business basically) will be high. Marxism is a sociopolitical ideology and method of economic change based on materialist and social factor. Marxism states that the economy cannot grow if means of production is controlled by private owners instead by the people. The society can do without feudal lords, land lords, private owners and slave-owners.
In the Confessions, Augustine wrote about his struggle with understanding how evil exists in a world created by God. He questioned how it was possible and why God allows evil in his creations because God is supremely good. After delving into finding a solution, Augustine concluded that evil does not exist, and the things deemed as evil are caused by free will. This paper will argue that Augustine has successfully proven that evil does not exist by explaining his earlier explanation of the origin of evil taught by the Manicheans, explaining Augustine’s teachings, and finally, using the textual descriptions of Augustine’s unwillingness to convert as support for his conclusion.
In Augustine's Confessions, the early church father puts forth a complex theodicy in which he declares evil to be nonexistent. Such a leap may seem to be illogical, but this idea stems from the understanding of what is substance and what is not. According to Augustine, the duality of good and evil is false, because anything that is good is substance and what humans think of as evil is simply the absence of the good (Confessions, 126). Vices for example, are just the display of the absence of the good. Pride is the absence of humility, unrighteous anger the absence of temperance, and so on. This idea is evident as he writes that the ability to be corrupted is what makes something good, not i...
Both Abelard and Aquinas were the two leading followers of scholastics of their time. Summa Theologica and Sic et Non, to this day, are controversial ways man has looked for reason in finding the truth about God and the divine order of life. The views on the "natural world" were challenged without challenging the Christian faith, while being followers of the Christian faith.
One such individual who has driven history is Martin Luther. Luther, a German monk, was an inspirational figure who struggled to encourage people to think more for themselves. Martin Luther had an unconventional way of viewing the Church at the time. Luther believed that it was wrong for the Church to sell indulgences or "forgiveness from god." Martin Luther thought that salvation could only be achieved through performing good deeds. During Luther's protesting, he created the "95 Theses," which were a list of arguments and problems against the Catholic Church. Martin Luther was a very strong leader, and through his teachings, many people began to follow him and share their beliefs. Eventually, this lead to the Reformation of the Roman Catholic Church, and caused a sect to break off, known as the Protestants. This drastic change lead to an immense conflict between both groups which eventually caused the ostracism of the Protestant sect to the Americas. This relocation created many thoughts that influenced the rest of the world. Martin Luther's ideas and teachings not only drove history in the past, but they continue to drive the present day.
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.
..., the closer he was really moving toward God. He began to realize that God is all good, so nothing he creates will be of evil. “God does not create evil but it is of the world” (Augustine 230-31). Once he took responsibility for his personal life and spiritual walk, Augustine began to uncover the truths to his life. He reveals one must take responsibility for their actions and confess to develop a stronger connection with God. He then comprehends; God allows bad things to happen in your life to show you that you need him. Evil is not a lesser good, but it is a reflection of ones moral well-being. In order for one’s well being to be saved one must confess their sins to Christ.