A) Religious concepts of predestination

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St Augustine

  • Wrote the 'Doctrine of Original sin' (at the time this became the Catholic Church's official theology on predestination)
  • The Doctrine of Original sin is based on the original sin of Adam and Eve- this caused sin to become a major defect of the human character
  • Augustine called this defect 'concupiscence' 
  • Concupiscence inhibits a moral agent's ability to choose godly goodness and resist the temptation of earthly pleasures
  • The defect is passed on from Adam and Eve to every person born into this world because:
  • 1. All humanity is related to Adam and Eve
  • 2. All humanity is born from sexual intercourse (in itself a result of concupiscence)
  • All humanity is born 'massa peccati' (lump/mass of sin) because concupiscence results in all humanity being tempted by materialism, at the expense of godly living
  • Augustine illustrated massa peccati by stating humanity is 'so hopelessly corrupted that we are absolutely incapable of doing anything good by our own forces' 
  • Therefore, for Augustine, humanity's ability to freely choose is lost to sin, moral agents are predestined to sin
  • However, he still argues humanity is born with free will
  • Human nature is 'liberium arbitrium' (humanity can choose between following a materialistic or godly…

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