Augustine was an amazing and heroic man who stood up for the Grace of God against the heretic Pelagian and his followers. He was convinced that all men need grace to be saved and that we can do nothing to earn it or save ourselves. We can credit him with preserving the fact that we are saved by Grace through faith and not works of our own. Pelagian tried to put it on us. We did sin and that was our fault, but after that we can't do anything to bring ourselves back to God. Our life would be hopeless. Augustine was a great defender of Christianity and he is another great man who defended the truth.
Both Augustine and Pelagius were both strong men determined to find the truth of God, both had somewhat different ideas on sin and how we are or aren't born with it. Augustine held the more popular idea of how we are born with sin right from the start but God's grace can help us. Pelagius with a slightly different view believed that we are born sinless, like how Adam and Eve were at first in the garden. I personally agree with Augustus's view in the matter given we all are sinful from the start, we are after all are human! If you look into any babies eyes you shouldn't see evilness or hate, but you can see sin if you watch close enough for awhile. Before babies can talk or even walk they get jealous of each other, they try and steal from each other due to jealousy. Babies aren't sinless, they certainly not evil but sin is shown right from the beginning. We aren't born perfect, as Pelagius's view would assume, we are sinners!
One thing I found interesting in the lecture this week was Augustine’s and Pelagius’s views of grace. To Pelagius grace is strictly something external. He believed that grace is the information that God gives us that enables us to do what is right or good. This view of grace is passive. Augustine, on the other hand, has an active view of grace. He believed that grace is also an internal force working inside us to restore the image of God. To Augustine one way grace comes is through the Holy Spirit. While I personally agree with Augustine, I think that these two views are very interesting because so much of Augustine and Pelagius’s debates stemmed from their different views of grace. If their view of grace had been the same, do you think their arguments would have been different?
This week I found how interesting it is that two people can have such different ideas about faith. Pelagius and Augustine were both respected and treasured by their followers yet their fundamentals on faith were completely opposite of each other. On one hand Pelagius teaches that when you got to heaven and God decides to let you through then that means you did the right thing more than the wrong. This part of the theory seems very similar to the Catholic faith. Pelagius also teaches that if we sin it's because we choose to. He refused the concept of original sin and the tradition of infant baptism. On Pelagius's side of the spectrum he believed that grace was passive and your will was active. On the other hand we have Augustine who took the opposition to nearly every topic that was just mentioned. He believed that not everyone could be saved and those that would be chosen to have God's salvation were called the "elect". Augustine also believed that grace was active and your will was passive, which directly opposes Pelagius's theories.
Now keeping all this in mind, these two men went through many different trials by Council (For example the Diaspolis, the Onorius, and the Orange.) Personally I agree that 2 out of 3 of these councils were fairly just to be called. The only one I think should not have appeared was the Diaspolis in Lydda. I believe that they brought Augustine into this trial with a slight misunderstanding of his belief system. Augustine was accused of saying that faith and salvation could happen without God's grace, which was actually not the case.
Personally, I thought Pelagius’s point of view on grace and freewill was quite fascinating. Though we know that Augustine’s reasoning was correct it amazes me that two monks of the same faith could have such different views on both grace and freewill. Pelagius states that grace is passive and is found through the information we are given (the law and Christ’s example) while freewill is active. He believed that the fall of man was a misuse of the free will that we have been given, and that sin is not transmitted down from generation to generation. Instead he believed that humans could obtain perfection. Yes, Adam and Eve sinned but we as humans that could obtain perfection have the choice of either falling into sin or remain perfect. We were considered to have been born perfect and with a new clean slate that could be kept clean unless we were to follow the example of Adam and Eve and sin. Though I understand and agree with Augustine’s point of view on grace and freewill I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pelagius’s reasoning behind his personal view on grace a freewill and enjoyed reading how his views were refuted by Augustine.
What I found interesting about this lecture is the two Semi positions. The first one Semi Pelagiun, agreed with Augustine's definition of grace and Augustine's belief that people need grace. The thing it did not agree with though was the thought that grace was irresistible. Saying that you can resist God's call is a very vain point to make. By stating that if God showed you grace you could resist it, you could say no and walk away, takes away God's power and control and puts it in your hand. It gives you some credit in your salvation, that you made the choice to except God's gift to you. This position also does this when it says that man's will can act before God's grace, that it can take the initiative. This belief takes some of God's power and puts it in your hands. The second position, Semi Augustinian, though still claims man can resist God's Grace, gives a little of the power back to God by saying grace comes before man's will. Even so, neither position truly gives God the full credit he deserves and shows us that we have none to claim.
What struck me from the video this week was the stark contrast between Augustine and Pelagius. The clear distinction between the beliefs of these two theological adversaries made the issue simple to comprehend. Augustine believed that grace was active, and human will was passive, subject to the grace of God. Pelagius held the position that grace was passive, and that human will was active, taking precedence in many cases. Augustine dabbled in the tough subject of predestination, or election. This is a controversial topic that continues to be debated. The fact that Pelagius rejected the concept of original sin was a bit disconcerting to me. How does one study the bible and draw such a conclusion? Psalm 51:5 states: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” This reference, among many others, refutes the idea of original sin.
Something that I have been learning about this time period is how controversial everything was. Things I take for granted today were argued out back then until an agreement was made such as the council of Nicaea disputing Christ's deity. The one discussed in the second half of the video was, primarily, about whether grace or will was more active in faith. I think I would have to agree with Augustus that we must receive God's grace before we have a will that is strong enough to resist evil. However I don't know what to think of him saying grace is resistible. I mean we can ignore it, sure, but in the end God still offers it.
St. Augustine was not one of those people who sit on the fence and can't decide which to stay on. He was a leader and knew exactly what he believed and stood up for. Though some of his beliefs were not accepted by many people, such as his belief about mankind needing grace to be saved, he still knew that these were correct. He would stand by these revolutionary claims no matter what other people said about him. Most did not like to be told that they are natural sinners and could not be saved on their own through good works, they only wanted to hear a "Jefferson Bible". (Thomas Jefferson blocked out all of the condemning parts in the Bible about sin and natural corruption from birth. He only wanted to hear the good parts about heaven, not the bad, hard to hear, hard to follow truths of the Bible.) It was the same for these people, even though many might've hated Augustine for saying such condemning things about them all, he was correct. It might've taken some time, but eventually thousands would stand aside St. Augustine in his beliefs about mankind's salvation.
"sin is not a behavior but a disease in which all humans are affected." That sentence right there is so good and so true. With the exception of Jesus. I like it because it is one of the most simplest and most true analogies of sin I have seen. Sin is a disease and the only cure is Jesus.
another line I like is "the object that we covet becomes all the more pleasant when it is forbidden." I like this line also because it explains most of human nature. it explains why when someone says not to do something we immediately want to do it. a great example of this is the classic example of the mother telling the child not to touch the stove but the child touches it anyway. it also is the reason why we like adrenaline a lot. it also goes into the why we sin so much. we sin because it is forbidden and thus making it more pleasant.
The two middle positions between Pelagius’s all will view and Augustine’s all grace view interested me the most in the lecture. From 360- 435 AD John Cassin represent the Semi-Pelagian view. Unlike Pelagius, Cassin agreed with Augustine that a person needs grace. However, he disagreed with the belief that grace is irresistible he instead believed that grace could indeed be resisted. He also thought that grace and will cooperated, meaning that they worked together. Yet, human will moved first to accept faith. The second position called the Semi Augustinian view, was held by Caesarius of Arles from 470- 542 or 543. He accepted all of Augustine’s views except he believed the grace is resistible and he also believed that grace and will cooperate. Now this sounds very similar to Cassin’s semi-Pelagius position. However, unlike the Semi-Pelagian view where human will takes the initiative, he believed that grace takes the initiative. So he believed that all were offered grace, but each person has enough will to accept or decline. The big question these to two middle positions were arguing is active will or active grace and who takes the initiative in faith.
Throughout the Pelagian controversy, it would appear that from the start Augustine and Pelagius had some difficulty in correctly communicate their ideas. In 405 AD Augustine said, “Grant what you command, and command what you will.” In other words tell me what to do and I’ll do it, if you [God] give me that power to do so. Pelagius read and understands this as “If I don’t do it, you [God] must not have given me the power to do it.” Augustine is not arguing this and I’m sure both Pelagius and Augustine would agree this is Christian way to live. However, it is the start of this long controversy. Later on, after multiple arguments have been sent back and forth, it is drawn to Augustine’s attention that he and Pelagius are defining the word “grace” differently. They are taking a word and using it in different ways; and had they not discovered the differing definitions when they did, I’m sure chaos would have ensued. Pelagius is defining grace as passive and external information and the human will as active. While Augustine is doing the exact opposite and defining grace as an irresistible and active power external and internal from the Holy Spirit and the human will as passive.
It was so interesting to see the differences of Augustine's and Pelagius' views and stands on religion. For Pelagius he believed that we are born all without sin and that we choose to sin. As for Augustine believes that men and women are born sinful, but by God's grace we can be healed. At first I thought both Augustine and Pelagius believed grace to mean the same thing. It was intriguing to see their different stands, Pelagius saw God's grace as things that God has given us, like the ten commandments, the teachings of Jesus, and the law. While Augustine believed God's grace was the power He bestows on us. It was really engaging to see how they both held so tight to their beliefs and their arguments back and forth against each other was so interesting. Throughout the years and the tense arguments at the Council of Orange, the decision was made the council decided to side with the Semi- Augustinian
I thought it was interesting that the semi-Augustinian view believed that Christ died for all, grace is offered to all, but we have enough free will for us to either accept or reject grace. That did not really make sense to me. It makes more sense that Jesus only died for the elect - sure, what He did on the cross is enough for everyone, but if He did die for everyone, then wouldn't everyone just be saved? John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This verse makes it seem like Christ died for everyone, but it clearly it states He died only for those who believe , and faith and repentance are both gifts from God. We can't have faith without God. We can't do it on our own.
Augustine believed that since human’s will was created by God, then it must be initially good. The will can want to do good, but can’t carry this out. At first I wasn’t sure if I agreed with that. But as I thought about I can see what he means. It says in Romans 7:15-18 “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.” Humans would consider some of their deeds good, but Augustine saying you’re good isn’t good. There are times that humans are kind and do good for others, but those acts are like filthy rags to God. That’s because we are doing those acts out of pride and ungodliness. This is what Augustine means. We can’t do true and real goodness, unless we get God’s grace.
one thing I found interesting was augustine younger life. augustine was brought up in a fashion that non of os would ever consider "christian" so the fact that he became much more aligned to the christian belief is impressive. St. Augustine was slightly off on his beliefs when it came to his women having to concubines and a wife on third his own age seems a bit much. but besides all of this he was a spectacular thinker he devoted his life simply to thinking on things of christ.
Prior to Augustine, free will was assumed. He had a pessimistic anthropology, which is the view that “humans are egotists by nature”. (Original Sin: Origins, Developments, Contemporary Meanings p. 144 by Tatha Wiley) His mentor, Ambrose of Milan, was anti-Arian, which is the belief that Jesus was only a man. He seems to have gone to the other extreme in the idea that Jesus was all God, perfect, without human aspects. Because of this, Ambrose believed a person could be perfect, like Jesus. Pelagius took this farther by saying that if humans therefore have the ability to be perfect, then that perfection is obligatory. Yet Augustine believed that humans were born sinful, and that sin was not just a behavior, it was a “disease with which all humans are affected.” The symptom of this disease, he believed, was the loss of free will. I disagree with this in that the symptom is not the loss of free will, but rather the turning away and rebelling against God. Fallenness, brokenness, anything that results from not obeying God is the sad symptom of sin. We still have free will, though, which works hand in hand with predestination. Yet, free will does not gain us salvation. God chooses us through predestination.
When watching this Augustine and Pelagianism lecture, one of Augustine’s beliefs that struck me was his approach to human will. While Pelagius thought of free will as active since birth and able to choose anything, Augustine saw the human will as broken. Only by the grace of God are we able to have freedom. However, if God made our will it must have the potential for good. As a perfect God, He is unable to make anything for evil. Therefore, Augustine says that as humans we can want to do good, but we cannot actually do it. I think this is evident in the fact that our human nature tells us to be “good.” We have somehow known it is wrong to lie, cheat and steal since birth. Non-Christians will agree with us that we should do good things. Then why are we in a broken, fallen, hurtful, messed-up world? It is because without God’s grace we can’t actually do any of that good. The Holy Spirit is God’s grace, helping us to actually put action to our will.
Pelagius and Augustine defined God’s grace in conflicting ways. Pelagius believed that God’s grace is what God provides to help man make the right choices; e.g. the law, the Ten Commandments, and the teachings of Christ. To him, grace was simply information for man’s external benefit. Grace was passive; it was the human will that was active in his opinion. On the other hand, Augustine thought that God’s grace deeply internal. God’s grace was what actively healed the broken human soul. Grace equaled God’s empowering love. I thought it was interesting how contrasting these two definitions of grace are. I tend to agree with Augustine’s opinion. I believe that God’s grace is given to us as a gift to heal us from our fallen nature. Unlike Augustine however, I believe that we have a choice whether or not to accept the grace.
Augustine was an amazing and heroic man who stood up for the Grace of God against the heretic Pelagian and his followers. He was convinced that all men need grace to be saved and that we can do nothing to earn it or save ourselves. We can credit him with preserving the fact that we are saved by Grace through faith and not works of our own. Pelagian tried to put it on us. We did sin and that was our fault, but after that we can't do anything to bring ourselves back to God. Our life would be hopeless. Augustine was a great defender of Christianity and he is another great man who defended the truth.
ReplyDeleteBoth Augustine and Pelagius were both strong men determined to find the truth of God, both had somewhat different ideas on sin and how we are or aren't born with it. Augustine held the more popular idea of how we are born with sin right from the start but God's grace can help us. Pelagius with a slightly different view believed that we are born sinless, like how Adam and Eve were at first in the garden. I personally agree with Augustus's view in the matter given we all are sinful from the start, we are after all are human! If you look into any babies eyes you shouldn't see evilness or hate, but you can see sin if you watch close enough for awhile. Before babies can talk or even walk they get jealous of each other, they try and steal from each other due to jealousy. Babies aren't sinless, they certainly not evil but sin is shown right from the beginning. We aren't born perfect, as Pelagius's view would assume, we are sinners!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I found interesting in the lecture this week was Augustine’s and Pelagius’s views of grace. To Pelagius grace is strictly something external. He believed that grace is the information that God gives us that enables us to do what is right or good. This view of grace is passive. Augustine, on the other hand, has an active view of grace. He believed that grace is also an internal force working inside us to restore the image of God. To Augustine one way grace comes is through the Holy Spirit. While I personally agree with Augustine, I think that these two views are very interesting because so much of Augustine and Pelagius’s debates stemmed from their different views of grace. If their view of grace had been the same, do you think their arguments would have been different?
ReplyDeleteThis week I found how interesting it is that two people can have such different ideas about faith. Pelagius and Augustine were both respected and treasured by their followers yet their fundamentals on faith were completely opposite of each other. On one hand Pelagius teaches that when you got to heaven and God decides to let you through then that means you did the right thing more than the wrong. This part of the theory seems very similar to the Catholic faith. Pelagius also teaches that if we sin it's because we choose to. He refused the concept of original sin and the tradition of infant baptism. On Pelagius's side of the spectrum he believed that grace was passive and your will was active. On the other hand we have Augustine who took the opposition to nearly every topic that was just mentioned. He believed that not everyone could be saved and those that would be chosen to have God's salvation were called the "elect". Augustine also believed that grace was active and your will was passive, which directly opposes Pelagius's theories.
ReplyDeleteNow keeping all this in mind, these two men went through many different trials by Council (For example the Diaspolis, the Onorius, and the Orange.) Personally I agree that 2 out of 3 of these councils were fairly just to be called. The only one I think should not have appeared was the Diaspolis in Lydda. I believe that they brought Augustine into this trial with a slight misunderstanding of his belief system. Augustine was accused of saying that faith and salvation could happen without God's grace, which was actually not the case.
Personally, I thought Pelagius’s point of view on grace and freewill was quite fascinating. Though we know that Augustine’s reasoning was correct it amazes me that two monks of the same faith could have such different views on both grace and freewill. Pelagius states that grace is passive and is found through the information we are given (the law and Christ’s example) while freewill is active. He believed that the fall of man was a misuse of the free will that we have been given, and that sin is not transmitted down from generation to generation. Instead he believed that humans could obtain perfection. Yes, Adam and Eve sinned but we as humans that could obtain perfection have the choice of either falling into sin or remain perfect. We were considered to have been born perfect and with a new clean slate that could be kept clean unless we were to follow the example of Adam and Eve and sin. Though I understand and agree with Augustine’s point of view on grace and freewill I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pelagius’s reasoning behind his personal view on grace a freewill and enjoyed reading how his views were refuted by Augustine.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting about this lecture is the two Semi positions. The first one Semi Pelagiun, agreed with Augustine's definition of grace and Augustine's belief that people need grace. The thing it did not agree with though was the thought that grace was irresistible. Saying that you can resist God's call is a very vain point to make. By stating that if God showed you grace you could resist it, you could say no and walk away, takes away God's power and control and puts it in your hand. It gives you some credit in your salvation, that you made the choice to except God's gift to you. This position also does this when it says that man's will can act before God's grace, that it can take the initiative. This belief takes some of God's power and puts it in your hands. The second position, Semi Augustinian, though still claims man can resist God's Grace, gives a little of the power back to God by saying grace comes before man's will. Even so, neither position truly gives God the full credit he deserves and shows us that we have none to claim.
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me from the video this week was the stark contrast between Augustine and Pelagius. The clear distinction between the beliefs of these two theological adversaries made the issue simple to comprehend. Augustine believed that grace was active, and human will was passive, subject to the grace of God. Pelagius held the position that grace was passive, and that human will was active, taking precedence in many cases. Augustine dabbled in the tough subject of predestination, or election. This is a controversial topic that continues to be debated. The fact that Pelagius rejected the concept of original sin was a bit disconcerting to me. How does one study the bible and draw such a conclusion? Psalm 51:5 states: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” This reference, among many others, refutes the idea of original sin.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I have been learning about this time period is how controversial everything was. Things I take for granted today were argued out back then until an agreement was made such as the council of Nicaea disputing Christ's deity. The one discussed in the second half of the video was, primarily, about whether grace or will was more active in faith. I think I would have to agree with Augustus that we must receive God's grace before we have a will that is strong enough to resist evil. However I don't know what to think of him saying grace is resistible. I mean we can ignore it, sure, but in the end God still offers it.
ReplyDeleteSt. Augustine was not one of those people who sit on the fence and can't decide which to stay on. He was a leader and knew exactly what he believed and stood up for. Though some of his beliefs were not accepted by many people, such as his belief about mankind needing grace to be saved, he still knew that these were correct. He would stand by these revolutionary claims no matter what other people said about him. Most did not like to be told that they are natural sinners and could not be saved on their own through good works, they only wanted to hear a "Jefferson Bible". (Thomas Jefferson blocked out all of the condemning parts in the Bible about sin and natural corruption from birth. He only wanted to hear the good parts about heaven, not the bad, hard to hear, hard to follow truths of the Bible.) It was the same for these people, even though many might've hated Augustine for saying such condemning things about them all, he was correct. It might've taken some time, but eventually thousands would stand aside St. Augustine in his beliefs about mankind's salvation.
ReplyDelete"sin is not a behavior but a disease in which all humans are affected." That sentence right there is so good and so true. With the exception of Jesus. I like it because it is one of the most simplest and most true analogies of sin I have seen. Sin is a disease and the only cure is Jesus.
ReplyDeleteanother line I like is "the object that we covet becomes all the more pleasant when it is forbidden." I like this line also because it explains most of human nature. it explains why when someone says not to do something we immediately want to do it. a great example of this is the classic example of the mother telling the child not to touch the stove but the child touches it anyway. it also is the reason why we like adrenaline a lot. it also goes into the why we sin so much. we sin because it is forbidden and thus making it more pleasant.
ReplyDeleteThe two middle positions between Pelagius’s all will view and Augustine’s all grace view interested me the most in the lecture. From 360- 435 AD John Cassin represent the Semi-Pelagian view. Unlike Pelagius, Cassin agreed with Augustine that a person needs grace. However, he disagreed with the belief that grace is irresistible he instead believed that grace could indeed be resisted. He also thought that grace and will cooperated, meaning that they worked together. Yet, human will moved first to accept faith. The second position called the Semi Augustinian view, was held by Caesarius of Arles from 470- 542 or 543. He accepted all of Augustine’s views except he believed the grace is resistible and he also believed that grace and will cooperate. Now this sounds very similar to Cassin’s semi-Pelagius position. However, unlike the Semi-Pelagian view where human will takes the initiative, he believed that grace takes the initiative. So he believed that all were offered grace, but each person has enough will to accept or decline. The big question these to two middle positions were arguing is active will or active grace and who takes the initiative in faith.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the Pelagian controversy, it would appear that from the start Augustine and Pelagius had some difficulty in correctly communicate their ideas. In 405 AD Augustine said, “Grant what you command, and command what you will.” In other words tell me what to do and I’ll do it, if you [God] give me that power to do so. Pelagius read and understands this as “If I don’t do it, you [God] must not have given me the power to do it.” Augustine is not arguing this and I’m sure both Pelagius and Augustine would agree this is Christian way to live. However, it is the start of this long controversy.
ReplyDeleteLater on, after multiple arguments have been sent back and forth, it is drawn to Augustine’s attention that he and Pelagius are defining the word “grace” differently. They are taking a word and using it in different ways; and had they not discovered the differing definitions when they did, I’m sure chaos would have ensued. Pelagius is defining grace as passive and external information and the human will as active. While Augustine is doing the exact opposite and defining grace as an irresistible and active power external and internal from the Holy Spirit and the human will as passive.
It was so interesting to see the differences of Augustine's and Pelagius' views and stands on religion. For Pelagius he believed that we are born all without sin and that we choose to sin. As for Augustine believes that men and women are born sinful, but by God's grace we can be healed. At first I thought both Augustine and Pelagius believed grace to mean the same thing. It was intriguing to see their different stands, Pelagius saw God's grace as things that God has given us, like the ten commandments, the teachings of Jesus, and the law. While Augustine believed God's grace was the power He bestows on us. It was really engaging to see how they both held so tight to their beliefs and their arguments back and forth against each other was so interesting. Throughout the years and the tense arguments at the Council of Orange, the decision was made the council decided to side with the Semi- Augustinian
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that the semi-Augustinian view believed that Christ died for all, grace is offered to all, but we have enough free will for us to either accept or reject grace. That did not really make sense to me. It makes more sense that Jesus only died for the elect - sure, what He did on the cross is enough for everyone, but if He did die for everyone, then wouldn't everyone just be saved? John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This verse makes it seem like Christ died for everyone, but it clearly it states He died only for those who believe , and faith and repentance are both gifts from God. We can't have faith without God. We can't do it on our own.
ReplyDeleteAugustine believed that since human’s will was created by God, then it must be initially good. The will can want to do good, but can’t carry this out. At first I wasn’t sure if I agreed with that. But as I thought about I can see what he means. It says in Romans 7:15-18 “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.” Humans would consider some of their deeds good, but Augustine saying you’re good isn’t good. There are times that humans are kind and do good for others, but those acts are like filthy rags to God. That’s because we are doing those acts out of pride and ungodliness. This is what Augustine means. We can’t do true and real goodness, unless we get God’s grace.
ReplyDeleteone thing I found interesting was augustine younger life. augustine was brought up in a fashion that non of os would ever consider "christian" so the fact that he became much more aligned to the christian belief is impressive. St. Augustine was slightly off on his beliefs when it came to his women having to concubines and a wife on third his own age seems a bit much. but besides all of this he was a spectacular thinker he devoted his life simply to thinking on things of christ.
ReplyDeletePrior to Augustine, free will was assumed. He had a pessimistic anthropology, which is the view that “humans are egotists by nature”. (Original Sin: Origins, Developments, Contemporary Meanings p. 144 by Tatha Wiley) His mentor, Ambrose of Milan, was anti-Arian, which is the belief that Jesus was only a man. He seems to have gone to the other extreme in the idea that Jesus was all God, perfect, without human aspects. Because of this, Ambrose believed a person could be perfect, like Jesus. Pelagius took this farther by saying that if humans therefore have the ability to be perfect, then that perfection is obligatory. Yet Augustine believed that humans were born sinful, and that sin was not just a behavior, it was a “disease with which all humans are affected.” The symptom of this disease, he believed, was the loss of free will. I disagree with this in that the symptom is not the loss of free will, but rather the turning away and rebelling against God. Fallenness, brokenness, anything that results from not obeying God is the sad symptom of sin. We still have free will, though, which works hand in hand with predestination. Yet, free will does not gain us salvation. God chooses us through predestination.
ReplyDeleteWhen watching this Augustine and Pelagianism lecture, one of Augustine’s beliefs that struck me was his approach to human will. While Pelagius thought of free will as active since birth and able to choose anything, Augustine saw the human will as broken. Only by the grace of God are we able to have freedom. However, if God made our will it must have the potential for good. As a perfect God, He is unable to make anything for evil. Therefore, Augustine says that as humans we can want to do good, but we cannot actually do it. I think this is evident in the fact that our human nature tells us to be “good.” We have somehow known it is wrong to lie, cheat and steal since birth. Non-Christians will agree with us that we should do good things. Then why are we in a broken, fallen, hurtful, messed-up world? It is because without God’s grace we can’t actually do any of that good. The Holy Spirit is God’s grace, helping us to actually put action to our will.
ReplyDeletePelagius and Augustine defined God’s grace in conflicting ways. Pelagius believed that God’s grace is what God provides to help man make the right choices; e.g. the law, the Ten Commandments, and the teachings of Christ. To him, grace was simply information for man’s external benefit. Grace was passive; it was the human will that was active in his opinion. On the other hand, Augustine thought that God’s grace deeply internal. God’s grace was what actively healed the broken human soul. Grace equaled God’s empowering love. I thought it was interesting how contrasting these two definitions of grace are. I tend to agree with Augustine’s opinion. I believe that God’s grace is given to us as a gift to heal us from our fallen nature. Unlike Augustine however, I believe that we have a choice whether or not to accept the grace.
ReplyDelete