Essay on how Augustine accounts for evil

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  • Created by: Lottie
  • Created on: 06-05-12 07:36

Explain how Augustine accounts for evil (25)

Augustine was a philosopher who responded to the problem of evil in his book called ‘confessions’ in which he concentrates on the fall of man in Genesis.

Firstly, Augustine was Bishop of Hippo in the 4th century so his views are associated with Roman Catholism therefore he interprets the Bible literally. From analysing Genesis, he states that everything lived in harmony in the Garden of Eden until Adam and Eve chose to give into temptation by eating the fruit on the tree. It was their own fault as God gave them freewill and they chose to disobey him, however he accepted that his creations needed freewill. Therefore, sin entered the world through Adam and Eve disobeying God.

Secondly, Augustine defined what evil was. He defined it as being a lack of good just as blindness is a lack of sight. Moral evil (evil caused by humans to create bad consequences) result from humans using their freewill to create

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