Augustine and the fall

• How were humans before the Fall?

  Before the Fall harmony is expressed in the complete obedience of Adam and Eve to God and in their duties
• What was human will according to Augustine?


  the best expression of the human will is in Christian love. A person must love themselves as much as their neighbor which in turn draws them towards a love of God. (Caritas)
• What was creatio ex nilhilo?

  from nothing. the freedom of action. You can choose to do evil or good, believe in God or not and these choices will determine what kind of person you are
• What did Augustine say about friendship and sex?


  Adam and Eve’s marriage was characterized by the positive qualities of friendship first. Sex when required would occur but it would result from God’s will and not lust (which implies a domination of the body over the soul).
• How was Pride before the Fall?


  Augustine interpreted Adam and Eve’s decision to eat from the forbidden tree of knowledge to be a sign of their desire to be like God, knowing good and evil and having his powers.
• who was Lucifer?

  The fallen angel who rebelled against God
• What was the divided will?

  Human will/action. the integrity of the will that was most central particularly because a weakened will was unable to control bodily and natural desires for food and sex. Humans are continually weakened by desires to do the opposite.
• What was concupiscence?

  Pride & disobedience- led to the rejection of their perfected relationship with God.
• What was akrasia?

  Weakness of will. Ancient philosophers also recognized this difficulty in always doing the right thing and described it as a “weakness of will” (Akrasia).
• What is the divided will?

  Will was weakened because of the Sin caused by Adam at the Fall. This notion of ourselves as divided between “good” and “evil” versions of ourselves is quite common in popular culture.
• What was Augustine's divided will?

  that he cannot put his past relationships with women aside and embrace celibacy. Even the vision of the chaste “Lady Continence” and the pure and serene life she offers is not enough for him to overcome his desires.
• What is caritas?


  generous love. love for others.
• what is cupiditas?

  self love. love for self. selfishness and greed
• Augustine believed that humans were created good but became evil when they sinned. He argued that human beings had free will and could choose whether to obey God or not. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, they brought about the downfall of humanity. From then on, every person would be born with a corrupt nature and would be inclined towards sin.