augustine

• Augustine's doctrine of original sin does not contradict the Bible, once we understand his views on grace.
• Prior to the fall, Adam and Eve were instructed to 'go forth and multiply', indicating a sexual relationship.
• According to Augustine, Adam and Eve had perfect rational control over themselves, including their sexual organs, until the fall.
• Augustine believed that humans were 'seminally present' in the loins of Adam, and that we were all vitiated by the sin, which is why we are all born with original sin.
• After the fall, original sin is a corruption in human nature that gives us an irresistible temptation to sin.
• Original sin features cupiditas (selfish-love) vs caritas (love of others), and its presence in human nature imbalances these two virtues, making us love ourselves more than others.
• Concupiscence is when our bodily desires overwhelm our reason.
• Scientific evidence against the fall includes the theory of evolution and genetic diversity, which suggests that humans could not have all come from two ancestors.
• Augustine's understanding of reproduction is unscientific, as he suggests that humans were all present in Adam's loins.
• The doctrine of original sin is not true, undermining all of Augustine's conclusions.
• The fall may not be accurate, but original sin still seems accurate if you look around you at how terrible humans can be.
• Augustine's pear story illustrates his belief that humans are born with a desire to sin, which is original sin.
• Many philosophers, such as Hobbes, have observed human behaviour and concluded that human nature contains an orientation towards evil and violence, which aligns with Augustine's view of human nature.
• There is evidence from psychology which justifies Augustine's view of human nature, such as the stanford prison experiment, which showed that power has a corrupting influence when participants were given roles of authority like being a prison guard.
• Pelagius points out, however, that the bible is full of God/Jesus commanding people to be and do good, suggesting that human nature must contain the means of obeying and following that command.
• Augustine argues that predestination is not unjust of God, since we are corrupted by original sin and so if we go to hell it is deserved.
• Pelagius argues that predestination makes punishment unjust, stating that if we have original sin and are thus completely unable to avoid doing evil, it would surely be unjust for God to punish us for our sinful behaviour.
• Paul seems clear that human ability to will and do good acts are the result of God’s power working in us (grace), not our own power.
• Augustine is not actually arguing that God himself blamed all humanity for Adam’s sin, he’s merely pointing out that it was a factual consequence of Adam’s sin that all future humanity, in Adam’s loins, became infected with original sin.
• Pelagius argues that it’s not ethical for all humanity to be blamed for the actions of Adam and Eve, suggesting an indefensible view of moral responsibility – that people can be responsible for actions committed by others which is of special absurdity in this case since the action occurred before they were even born.
• Augustine responds that humans can do good – IF God has granted them grace!
• Augustine responds that God doesn’t punish us because of the actions of adam and eve – God punishes us because we are sinful beings – because we are born with original sin.
• Pelagius criticises Augustine – original sin is unbiblical, arguing that Augustine’s view of original sin means that we are incapable of being or doing good.
• Pelagius concludes that only our having free will and thus being without coercion from original sin makes sense of the prevalent biblical theme of God’s judgement and punishment.
• God’s grace gives people the mental strength to have persevering faith in Jesus which enables them to be saved by his sacrifice, predestining them for heaven.
• Receiving grace also allows people to be and do good actions.
• Humans have progressed since Augustine's time, as evidenced by Martin Luther King's statement that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, and Steven Pinker's attribution of the power of human reason that violence has decreased in modern times, even considering the 20th century.
• The average human life seems more secure than at any prior point in history, which contradicts Augustine's claim that original sin damns us to hell.
• Grace and predestination are central concepts in Augustine's theology, where God grants grace to some 'elect' people.