...Throughout the Christian biblical texts the theme of divine and human language constantly emerges. The way in which these two languages differ gives great insight into the moral characteristics of both the mortal beings as well the characteristics of the divinities. The way the divinities speak both contrasts and compares to the way the mortals use their language. Although in all of the texts the divinities use speech to create bounds while the mortals are simply unable to do anything but comply. There does come a point where these two methods of divine and human speech come together to share striking similarities. This can be seen in the biblical books of Genesis, Gospel According to John, and the book Confessions by Saint Augustine. The...
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...Christianity in Late Antiquity The period of Late Antiquity was roughly between 300 and 600 A.D. It was a period of change for the European world, change in politics, religion, economics, and much more. New ideas and ways were emerging while many of the old were starting to disappear. One of the most important and drastic changes during this time was the change in Christianity. Christianity was present before this period, but during Late Antiquity was when the Christian Church went from a persecuted religion to a desired and dominate faith. In this paper I will argue through the writings of Saint Augustine’s Confessions good Christians in Late Antiquity must be obedient and have a good sense of acceptance. Christianity really started to spread and expand in the third century. When the Roman Empire was declining in the third century Christianity was able to come in and take a place that was felt to be empty by the people. The economy was deteriorating with the decline in agriculture and food, leaving Christian Church to provide care for the poor, making Christianity appealing to the normal person. During the time of catastrophe such as the plague the Church was there to take care of the people; they managed burials for the dead, and during famine they organized food-supplies for the poor. The Church was the only form of a unified organization during times of upheaval making it alluring to people who felt they had been abandoned by the Roman Empire; the Church also gave...
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...Saint Augustine, also know us Saint Augustine of Hippo, Aurelius Augustinus. he was in Thagaste , Souk Ahras, Algeria Nov. 13, 354, Tagaste , died Aug. 28, 430, Hippo Regius, feast day August 28, bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430, . The father of St. Augustine was a pagan who converted on his death bed and his mother was Saint Monica, a devout Christian. St. Augustine received a Christian upbringing and in 370 went to the University at Carthage to study rhetoric with a view to becoming a lawyer. St. Augustine gave up to be lawyer and to devote himself to literary pursuits and gradually abandoned his Christian faith ,he taking a mistress with whom he lived fifteen years and who bore him a son, Adeodatus, in 372 and afteran investigating...
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...Evil, Christianity, and Saint Augustine Sammy Hoag Philosophy 202 Dr. Ryan Murphy December 2015 What is evil? This ‘problem of evil’ and the existence of evil have plagued the minds of people throughout the centuries. It has been one on the most sought after inquiries and one of the most vexing challenges to Christianity, in explaining the existence of God. Many philosophers and thinkers, both secular and Christian, have endeavored to solve this problem. One of the most notable of whom is Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). He is perhaps one of the most influential philosophers in the history of the Christian Church. Augustine spent much of his life trying to solve this ‘problem of evil’ and it proved to be quite an undertaking. This paper will explore the problem of evil and argue how Saint Augustine solidified the ways in which philosophy and religion, specifically Christianity, coincide through his work on the concepts of the problem of and the origin of evil. Understanding the problem of evil is essential to everyone because it affects the manner in which life is lived. Whether defending a belief in God or trying to share those beliefs with others everyone will encounter the problem of evil at some point. According to Ed Miller and Jon Jensen, authors of Questions that Matter:...
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...even personal loss, a writer’s interaction with the world will more often than not find its way onto paper. In this essay we will examine writers such as Francesco Petrarch, William Butler Yeats, and Saint Augustine, and analyze the ways and assess the impact that each of these authors have had on the world through their personal interactions with it. Francisco Petrarch is regarded by some to be the father of Humanism. The majority of Petrarch’s works focuses primarily on the value and welfare of the individual. His literature centers on an ideology that rejects religious beliefs and embraces the interests, needs, and welfare of humans. Petrarch adopted this humanistic viewpoint during his climb of Mont Ventoux. At the top of this mountain he declares, “…angry with myself that I should still be admiring earthly things who might long ago have learned from even the pagan philosophers that nothing is wonderful but the soul…” (Kallendorf, The Historical Petrarch). This event, coupled with his survival of the historical Bubonic Plague and the sudden, tragic death of Laura (his un-met lover), inspired him to write The Canzoniere, which is a collection of over 300 poems. The central theme of The Canzoniere is Petrarch’s love for Laura, a woman he allegedly met in the Church of Saint Claire. Not only did his interaction with this woman result in the production of more than 300 sonnets, but his love for this woman coined the term “Petrarchan Love,” which means an unattainable love...
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...into two sides. But there is never pro or con side because every person explains according to his own life and private examples. Also it did not pass along our one of the most famous historic of philosophy Socrates and St. Augustine in their latest compositions. They say that the “Sin” is a thing that harms one’s life in abstract way. Basically Socrates in the “Apology” understands Sin just like an abandon during your self-development therefore he used to say “If you ever do not know anything about knowledge and afterwards just forget it and let it go” so this is a sin. On the other hand the Sin in Confessions by Saint Augustine is a new attempt, he proposes as sin, things which makes you proud. Since both characters have their own thoughts on something, and this understanding makes them really different. For example they both say about sins however they understand different things as a sin. These most incredible Greek philosophers such as St. Augustine and Socrates with ambiguous ideas disputed about what the Sin is. Moreover they have different views on how to look to Sin with different directions. St. Augustine’s book which is called Confession is autobiographic since it was written according his life, and after reading the Confession we can deduce that what were his understandings about sin in his different life ages. Moreover we can find out, how a sinful life he had and how could overcome his sinful life. The main point is that, he continued doing sinful...
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...from Paul to the Romans. Continued New Testament History, early Christianity. Women in the New Testament period. Mueller, pgs 105-124, 277-296 Council of Nicea, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3801.htm Council of Constantinople and Council of Chalcedon http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/monotheisticreligions/g/chalcedoncreed.htm Council of Constantinople, http://www.piar.hu/councils/ecum02.htm 10/13: Classes meet on a Monday schedule. 10/15: Paul. Early Christianity. 10/20: Test #2. New Testament and Christian History. 10/22 -11/3: Christian History--4th century to Modern times. Muslims, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics. Mueller, pgs 299-322, pgs 155-177. 11/5-11/12: Catholic and Protestant Theologians: Augustine,...
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...Augustine Dealing with Death “A Friend’s Death” in the book “Confessions,” written in Hippo in 397, pretty clearly identifies what this portion of the text encompasses. The excerpt begins with Augustine’s recurrence of confusion with God; watching his friend suffer so intensely makes him wonder why God doesn’t divinely intervene to end his misery. This leads to a reflection on his recent dark days and more ambiguity with God’s presence. While unconscious, Augustine’s friend receives a baptism that Augustine is sure he would not have preferred if mentally present. With this in mind, Augustine pokes fun of it when his friend comes to, which is seen as repulsively unforgiveable, and threatens to end their friendship. Not long afterwards, the friend passes, which leaves no time for reconciliation for the two. This leads Augustine descending into a deep depression where constantly reminders of his loss lie and ultimately his only relief is found through weeping. Although this time period was extremely devastating to Augustine in the moment, do you think the reborn St. Augustine looks back on this memory as more of a weight off of his shoulders than a devastating loss while writing the selection? In the beginning sentences of the selection, Augustine goes into detail about the diminishing condition of his ailing friend. He goes into depth when describing his friend’s pain, stating that he was “convulsed with fever, lying insensible in a lethal sweat and given up for lost”...
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...GOODS OF by John J. Coughlin, O.F.M. I. General Description Saint Augustine provided the classical description of the goods of marriage as fidelity (fidelium), children (proles), and sacrament (sacramentum). According to Augustine, fidelity is the understanding and intention of the married couple to exercise exclusive sexual faithfulness to one another. As the fruit of fidelity, parents accept children in love, nurturing them in affection, and educating them in religion. The sacrament constitutes a symbol of the permanence and stability in marriage. (De Genesi ad litteram, 9, 7, 12). The classical Augustinian description of the three goods of marriage is reflected, but not repeated verbatim, in the 83 CIC. Section One of C. 1055 defines the ends of marriage as the good of the spouses and procreation and education of children. The language of the canon situates the two ends of marriage in the context of marriage as covenant and sacrament. C. 1056 lists unity and indissolubility as the essential properties of marriage. The elements of the Augustinian description of the goods of marriage—fidelity, children, and sacrament—inform the present law of the church describing marriage as sacramental covenant in terms of ends and properties—the love of the spouses, children, unity, and indissolubility. II. Saint Augustine’s Traditional Three Goods In describing the goodness of marriage, Saint Augustine did not...
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...The existence of evil is one of the world’s most vexing challenges. Most Christians agree on the existence of an omnipotent God, however like Augustine, we struggle to understand how evil comes into being. Evil corrupts our free will and enables us to sin, but if God is all-powerful and all good, how can he allow this to happen? “Whence comes evil? Was there a certain evil matter out of which he made these things? Did he form and fashion it, but yet leave within it something that he would not convert into good? Why would he do it? Was he powerless to turn and change all this matter so that no evil would remain in it, even though he is all powerful?” As these questions found their way into Augustine’s mind, they also manage to exist and remain unanswered for most people today. However Augustine addresses these questions by justifying evil in this world with God’s creation of free will. By granting us free will God makes us responsible for our wrongdoings, as a result of this we can knowingly choose either right or wrong. In the infamous biblical passage on the creation of original sin, God accommodates men by giving Adam and Eve all the necessities of life: partnership, water, food and land. However, despite God’s warning Eve chose to eat the fruit from the tree of life. The serpent persuades Eve who later convinces Adam to eat from the tree. From this persuasion and act from men, original sin is born. Men are now born with a predisposition to sin; in other words, they can knowingly...
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...Of The Requirements For The Course CHHI 520 CHHI-520 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH I By Dutch Nelson Liberty ID #: L24440559 Lynchburg, Virginia October 7, 2012 Table of Contents Cover Page 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The Life of Augustine 3 Madaurus 366-370 3 Thagaste 370-371 4 Carthage 371-383 4 Italy 383-387 4 Thagaste 387-390 5 Hippo 390-430 5 Augustine as a Writer 5 Augustine as a Scholar 6 Augustine as a Pagan 7 Augustine and Marriage 8 Augustine’s Journey to Christiainity 9 Augustine as a Christian 10 Augustine as Saint 11 Conclusion 12 Bibliography 14 Introduction Spiritual leaders exemplify themselves by the way they live and the way they impact the lives of others. This normally determines how their congregation and those who hear their word and see their deeds view them. Augustine’s life has not been totally perfect. He like other humans has erred in some way. However, he has had a positive impact on a number of theologians and philosophers (Smith 2008, 1). This paper looks at his life over his 76 years on earth and seeks to provide evidence that Augustine’s life can be used as an example in the preparation of spiritual leaders. The Life of Augustine Augustine’s life dates from 354 to 430. His father (Patricius) was a pagan of Roman decent and a member of the council while his mother (Monica) on the other hand was a Christian. This indicates that he had to deal with contrasting situations very early in his life...
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...Repentance’, ‘mercy has no meaning without a consciousness of sin and of God’s judgment.’ Both St Augustine’s Confessions and the selections in the New Testament agree with this doctrine by stating that God will have mercy for those who are conscious of their sins. In Book ten of St Augustine’s Confessions, Augustine says, “…there is something of man that the very spirit of man that is in him does not know.” Augustine wants to confess everything about him, what he knows about himself and what he “does not” or is not aware of. He has “hunger and thirst” for understanding the mercy of God. He finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Saint Augustine finally sins....
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...The Confessions is a detailed autobiography of Saint Augustine’s life. Converting from Manichaeism to Christianity, Augustine went through many different mindsets when viewing religion and his beliefs. Manichaeism was a type of gnostic belief founded in the third century by Mani of Persia. Mani was influenced highly by other gnostic beliefs in the area. Early on in Augustine’s life he was fascinated by Manichaeism, and practiced Manichaeism beliefs for roughly ten years. Upon realization of the falsity behind Manichaeism, Augustine decided to convert to Christianity. Augustine began his life attracted to Manichaeism, and through many experiences noticed its flaws and converted to Christianity. Book III of The Confessions describes different Manichaeism beliefs and how they conflict with respective Christianity beliefs. By explaining the differences within each belief system, Augustine also describes the way his beliefs changed while in the process of converting from Manichaeism to Christianity. The first belief described in Book III that the Manichees have is the idea that God is not omniscient and omnipotent, yet he lives in a battle against evil. This idea is one of the biggest concerns Augustine has once he has converted to Christianity. How can one ignore the presence of evil if God is all knowing? This belief of evil vs. good goes...
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...Augustine’s Theology against Pelagianism by Mark S. Castlebury HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY I CHHI 520 Professor John M. Landers 09 May 2014 ABSTRACT This paper will examine Augustine’s response to the doctrinal challenges presented in the heresy of Pelagianism concerning grace and original sin. Augustine’s writings against Pelagius serve as our primary source for understanding his response. It is expected to find that Augustine responded in a biblically orthodox manner showing the true nature of man while defending the doctrines of grace and original sin. CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii Pelagianism 1 THE BACKGROUND OF PELAGIUS 2 THE WRITINGS OF PELAGIUS 3 THE TEACHINGS OF PELAGIUS 6 AUGUSTINE 7 AUGUSTINE’S BACKGROUND 7 ORIGINAL SIN 8 TRANSMISSION OF SIN 9 THE GRACE OF GOD 10 CONCLUSION 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 11 Pelagianism The Heresy of Pelagianism began in the fifth-century and was named after the British monk Pelagius. He is well known even today for his views on original sin and freedom of the will. A definition provided by William Shed in his work Dogmatic Theology states that, “Pelagius affirmed the freedom of the will, which for him meant that a person always has the ability to choose good as well as evil. That is, for Pelagius the power of contrary choice is essential to free moral agency. According to Pelagius, a person is always ‘able to sin and able not to sin’ (posse peccare et posse non peccare). Naturally, such a view of freedom carries implications for the...
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...to evil when the original sin occurred? St. Augustine was one of the most respected thinkers in Christianity. In Book VII the Confessions, Augustine reflects on the existence of evil and the problem it faces. For evil to exist, the Creator, God, must have granted it, its existence. This contradicts the Christian view that God is purely good. For a long time, Augustine thought evil must not exists or that God is not entirely good. Original sin. Always asked questions God had to create evil Evil, Augustine entire religious life was based on evil, and how God could create it if he is good. Evil is a major theme in the Confessions, and the City of God. When Augustine was young, he could not wrap his mind around believing in an all good God that also created evil. However, God gave people free will. We can make our own choices. Our choices may be perceived as evil but it is just the lack of goodness in our decisions. The problem with evil and God is the challenge of how an all-powerful and all-loving God can allow his creation to suffer, without helping then and putting an end to their suffering. This challenge is an often quoted reason for being unable to believe in God for it is argued, either God does not exist or, if he does then he is not a God worthy of out worship. Souls are the reason we do bad things not the body. The Soul is emotional God gave us the option to do bad things One question preoccupied Augustine from the time he was a student in Carthage:...
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