Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Augustine's teaching on human nature - Coggle Diagram
Augustine's teaching on human nature
arguments
sins & humans being morally good
distinctive human nature
teaching on Original Sin is
pessimist or optimist
teaching in the a historical fall is
Strengths
not wrong
if understood literally, challenges God's nature; for example, why God would create a world with imbalance, evil and suffering in it
however difficult iit I sot believe that the Fall is literally true, the story's influence on Christianity is so far reaching that it perhaps needs to be taken seriously. the account can have use to Christianity thought even if it is not taken literally
some christians find it useful becaasue it expkains how things are, such as the dominance of men, the significance of lust and the broken relationship with God
not wrong
the idea of our physical desires being in such control of us, is shared by some phuschologists, strengthening his view
OS explains why God allows humans to commit such atrocities in the world and yet still remains a God of love because it shows the centrality of free will
thew idea of concupiscence links well to our experience of temptation and explains why all humans are affected by it so strongly
Augustine is right: sin means that humans can never be morally good
wrong to object to the idea on the basis of God's love because the fault lies within humanity
as true goondess, the summer bonus is perfection, humans will fall short of this - they will lack some goodness
free will is a precious gift from God and must be preserved. as humans continue to use it badly = never able to be morally good
God's love entails justice and god's grace saves people even though they are undeservng. just because God loves his people, it does not make us morally good
there is
scientists (inc Christian ones) might argue that built into human beings is the desire to survive and flourish - seen in evolution
18thC philosopher, Jean- Jacques Rosseau said that humans have a basic tendency to be generous but society holds them back - 'man is born free but everywhere he is in chains'
some suggests that it is separated by characteristics of mean and those of women - men are assertive and women are passive etc
Thomas Hobbes argued that humans are like animals - selfish beings that need to use their reason to overcome their animal instincts and build societies
Augustine would argue there is and it has changed due to the fall- seen in the actions of individuals and societies
optimist
heavenly peace is a reality and something that can be acheived. the Christian must always live life in the hope that they are one of the chosen
the Church helps Christians in they journey and is an institution there to guide people on earth towards the summum bonus as well as earthly place
A's final teaching on grace shows this since grace is entirley undeserved
Weaknesses
wrong
textual analysis of Genesis 1-3 suggests different authors. if there are different authors, then the account od less likely to be true
evidence from evolution, eg, discredits Genesis account in its entuirety (because humans evolved overtime, rather than being created readymade ) and existence of the Garden of Eden - which itself cannot be found with an angel guarding it
does not make sense to say that Adam and Eve were tempted because if Augustine is right that everything was perfect and they were created perfectly, they should not have been able to think about disobeying God
wrong
augustines teaching on OS has its origins in truth but in A's own struggles with sex and relationhships
evolution demonstrates that humans have emerged from many ancestors and so OS cannot have come out of the sin of A&E
even if the fall were true, it is unfair to for humans today to be affected by the actions odf two people so long ago.
Augustine is not right: sin does not prevent humans from being morally good
the idea that God is all-loving suggests that humans would not be condemned to a life of place of moral badness
the Catholic view of concupiscence as being only an inclination to sin, rather than innate moral corruption means that humans can choose moral goodness
the Catholic Church also distinguishes between types of is - immortality does not come from 'everyday' (venial) sins but from serious (mortal) sins
even in A's own thought. God's grace has a real impact on people thus humans can with God's help be morally good
there isn't
as many societies and states are different
17thC philosophere John Locke argued that at birth all people are born with a 'tabula rasa' - a blank slate and all our influences builds us up to be different individuals - so we are not born with a common human nature
existentialist thought rejects the idea of there being a basic humans nature - we build who we are (our essence) through our choices and decisions
some Christians develop their own relationship with God in different ways - there is no right way to be a human as long as we use our individual gifts and talents as best s we can to live life to the full
psychologists such and Freud, might argue this because humans are governed by memories and feelings repressed into our uncnscious minds
pessimist
there is little oppurtunity to develop away from our state, there is no escape: free will is downplayed and hell is a certainty for some
he believe that through life we are driven by concupiscence which is a negative force that controls us
we are tainted from birth through no fault of our own
God's grace
the Grace of God
St A wrote that 'from the bad use of free will, there originated the whole train of evil, which ... conveys the human race from its depraved origin, as from a corrupt root
he continued by saying that the only way to be freed from the consequences of original sin was 'by the grace of god' (City of God)
and free will
St A uses the analogy of weighing scales
our 'captive free will' is weighted in favour of sin, but grace can remove the weights
grace can liberate our free will and thus restore our ability to make the right decisions
Human relationships pre- and post- Fall
pre- fall
harmony
there was harmony in the world
between
Humans and eachother
Humans and creation
God and humankind
The body and the will of humans
seen in the complete obedience of Adam and Eve and the fulfilment of their God-given duties in the world
eg
naming the animals (Genesis 2;19)
keeping the garden (Genesis 2;15)
caritas
taught that 'we will what we love'
the kind of love found in the world was a selfeless, outward, generous love
known by the Greek word agape
derive the word charity from caritas
seen as the vest in the relationship between Adam and Eve
they were married , but A characterises their relationship as that of friends
concordia
defined Adam and Eve's relationship
relationship that was comfortable, easy and understanding
harmony in this friendship extended to the harmony between the body and will
sexual activity was at the command of the will
in City of God, A wrote that 'nakedness was nit yet shameful, because ... those members [did not move] without the will's consent
post- Fall
loss in harmony
Eve
cupiditas is first seen in the account of the Fall in the decision of her
when the serpent first tempts her, she resists by reminding the serpent of what God has commanded her
but the serpent pushes her and focus changes when she sees that the fruit is a 'delight to the eyes'
this is cupiditas taking over caritas
focus remained on on God as a demonstration of caritas
consequneces
breaking of harmony which God had created
now Adam and Eve hide from God instead of walking together in the garden (Genesis 3;8)
Adam and Eve try to pass the blame for their actions to others
there is an enimty between humans and creation
friendship of Adam and Eve is damaged
now characterised by jealousy and pain
cupiditas
cupiditas replaces caritas
selfish, inward love of temporary, earthly things
dominance is shown by emergence of concupiscence or lust
not only sexual lust but a lust for the material and the earthly
concupiscnce is no longer under the command of will
this is the opposite for. the situation before the fall
St Paul wrote 'For I do not of the good I want, but the evil do not want is what I do .'
In city of god , A says that the shame felt over sex is evidence of how cupids has taken us over
He wrote that 'lust requires for its consummation darkness and secrecy ... even when he innocently copilates with his wife.'
Original Sin and its effects in the will of humans and societies
OS and humanity
since we all suffer from OS , we all have a weekend and divided will, often working what odds with our body
as St Paul writes ' I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but the very thing I hate.' (Romans 7:15)
so our selfish appetites can gain control over us
this can either be in the form of sexual lust, or the selfish desire for earthly things
St A argued that 'we will what we love' and since what we now love is our own satisfaction that is what we pursue
OS and society
the effects are seen in society
our friendships have become poisoned by selfishness
we have become corrupt and selfish, and this is a danger to other people
the lack of harmony is a problem for society since we only think of ourselves, and the needs of the population
St A argued that we need strong, forceful political leadership to establish boundaries
this would enforce control over human behaviour
sex after the fall
every act of sex is tainted with lust
is infected withconcupiscnece and so the results of sex, children, and are also tainted
'... even infants, not personally in their own life ... have all broken God's covenant'
origins of OS
says we are born corrupt, damages, broken and disharmonious
begins with the sin of Adam and Eve, but is now passed in through sexual intercourse down the generations
St A wrote that 'from the bad use of free will, there originated the whole train of evil, which ... conveys the human race from its depraved origin, as from corrupt root