Augustines teachings

What is Augustines background?

His father was Pagan and his mother was christian, he grew up in an environment of religious and philosopical pluralism, he was poor but showed promise so was sent to school, he was a popular shaper of christian thought

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What were Manichees?

cosmic battle of good and evil, people have a good soul and an evil soul, jesus is a role model the soul is part of the kingdom of light but is trapped in a kingdom of darkness due to appetites

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What are plontines?

there is only the form of the good, negative about the body, people should treat their charcacter like a sculptor with a statue

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How did augustine question plontinus?

he went to hear the preechings of the Bishop of Milan who renewed his interest in christainity, he came to the conclusion that humans cannot find truth through reason alone, they need grace and they need to turn away from bodily pleasures

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What did Augustine do at age 32?

he became a priest then bishop, he had a mistress but gave her up, he enjoyed sexual freedom nut he saw it as a barrier so restricted other people from it, he ordered the destruction of non-christian places of worship, persecuted heretics

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What was life like before the fall?

we lived in harmony and friendship with god, god made adam and eve perfectly with free will, god commanded them to "be fruitful and multiply" they became happy nudists

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What was life like after the fall?

evil occured due to the missuse of human free will, we all have original sin so desire material goods, there is nothing we can do to become free of sin, we are saved through the grace of God

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What did he believe about love?

human will is driven by it, it could pull people in the right direction or the wrong one

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What was cupiditas and caritas?

Cupiditas=love of impermanat earthly things,love of self, people who choose this are ignorant and unhappy Caritas=generous love of others,shown through virtures such as temperance,justice and fortifitude, leads to spiritual happiness

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What did he believe about original sin?

Adam and eve chose the path of cupiditas and we all inherited original sin so we are sinful by nature, we are in a state of ignrance as human will is divided,people can choose between right and wrong but is inclined towards the wrong

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How are people saved?

people can be saved from sin through Gods grace, through christ because if people achieve goodness through their own efforts then Jesus' sacrifice is unnecessary

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What is Augustines story of the pear?

he stole a pear from someones garden when he was younger,not because he needed it but because he wanted the pleasure, it demonstrates that sin has become apart of our human nature and is even seen through children

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What did he believe about sexuality?

lusts for material things is a distraction from loving god, he encouraged married couples with enough children to take a vow of celibacy, he didnt let his sister or any other woman to enter his house so he could stay "pure of will"

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What did he believe about women?

he didnt see women as weaker but believed they will take a passive role as "your desire will be for your husband, he will rule over you"

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What did he believe about grace?

it is the generous giving of gods love allowing us to live harmoniously with god again, it is th only thing saving us from eternal punishment, rejects that acts earns us a place in heaven, grace is found through Jesus

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what did he believe about Justice?

some must suffer damnation which is the natural punishment for sin, but god elects some of us for salvation which is predestined

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What are the biased scales?

God works colabriatly with the free will to achieve restoration so we can see sinfulness and goodness for what they truly are

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What are the strengths of his ideas?

its biblical, perserves gods mercy,shows why it is easier to be sinful,the fall can be a moral teaching of why we rebel against god,Jesus plays an important role, agrees with the claim "apart from me you can do nothing" Freud agrees sex is powerful

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What did Niebur believe?

power of reason and belief in goodness is not enough to bring about just societies, it is right to recognise that good is often tainted with evil, we cannot become perfect through our own actions alone, we need god

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what are the weaknesses of his ideas?

doesnt leave enough room for moral growth, Dawkins believes we cannot believe in Adam and Eve because of Evoloution, it leads to an unhealthy obsession with sin and guilt, Freaud says idea of God leads to guilt, comprimises human intergrity

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What are the weaknesses of his ideas?

Pelagious believes this removes total responsibility from humans, shared punishment seems unjust, negative view on sexuality wouldnt be accepted today, the bible suggests al will be saved, basis on which god gives grace is unkown

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What did Pelagious believe?

humans are born totally sinless, fall didnt affect later generations, imperfections of humans reflect badly on God,sin is an act wilfully commited against god, grace is human faculties given to us or external enlightenment, saved by autonomy

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Augustines teachings

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