St Augustine had similar beliefs as Plato. For example "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God: the same was the beginning with God; all things were made by Him and without him was made nothing that was made; in Him was life and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it."(p.116/IX) What he is saying here is expressed in a metamorphic way. The light is God and, the truth, all his teachings and everything that he had created. It projected itself on the darkness which is the humans, everyday people. Augustine states that "one must believe in order to understand." He states that god must give one faith. This gift from God which is grace, determines if one believes or not. To understand one must have faith in God. When they have faith in God they will then be able to open their minds and begin to understand his teachings. "Again I found in them that the word, God was born not of flesh nor blood, nor of the evil of man nor of the will of the flesh, but of God, but I did not find that the word became flesh."(p116/IX) What he is saying here was that the word came not from these places but from God himself and it will not become flesh until it is loved and believed. Until we believe we will not understand. Once we believe an understanding will begin to bloom. He says we should hid these teachings from the wise and share them with the young. Meek and humble of hearts shall absorb his teachings and learn to forgive sins and love one another and find peace. While those who wear high boots shall not learn his ways and will remain ignorant to his teachings and carry a foolish heart. We must have faith in order to understand God and reach a state of grace. .
There are some things in the world that we might think as evil. They might be stormy winds, tornadoes, or flash floods. We see them as evil because they do not fit in with our ways of living and modern society.
Aurelius Augustine, later known as Augustine of Hippo or Saint Augustine, was one of the most important and well-known theologians in the history of the Christian religion. He was born on November 13, 354 AD, in Roman Empire and died on August 28, 430 AD, in Hippo Regius, Algeria. He was born as a ...
What is Evil? From an explanation that that was given to St. Augustine, "the cause of evil is the free decision of our will, in consequence of which we act wrongly" (pg 161). In other words the decision of our will is that we make our own decisions and our destiny is what we make of it. In l...
St. Augustine's City of God The philosophies of Saint Augustine were remarkable and perhaps revolutionary for his lifetime. ... (Dietrich, St. ... (Dietrich, St. Augustine, philosophies.) ...
Evil Cannot Exist. St. Augustine was one of the most influential Christian converts of his time. In his book, The Confessions, he described his life and journey towards converting to Christianity. He addressed many of the issues that arise from infancy to adolescence to adulthood. In each phase of...
According to St. Augustine, sin comes via free-will. ... In Saint Augustine Confession's, Augustine believes he stole the fruit for the mere enjoyment of the sin and the theft which the stealing involved. ... Saint Augustine had a choice, to sin or not to sin. ... When viewing the crime which Augustine committed, it is noted that Augustine acted in self-indulgence or vice. ...
Saint Augustine and Classical Education In Saint Augustine's deeply personal work, Confessions, he shares the story of his life up to his eventual conversion to the Christian faith. ... Augustine's attitude towards classical literature and thought was at times slightly self-contradictory. ... Augustine recalled that as a very young man he himself succumbed to excessive pride. ... Augustine was a rationalist man throughout the work, and yet his most defining moment is one of pure faith. Only after years of personal struggle did Augustine arrive at his own religious revelation. ...
St. Thomas Aquinas supports and accepts the notion of Augustine that evil is not something positive and God is not the cause of evil, because evil is not a thing. His whole answer on the problem of evil is related to God. St. Thomas Aquinas believes God did not will moral evil in any sense but only...
St. Augustine: The City of God According to St. Augustine, there have been many people and events that have helped in the establishment of philosophy and natural theology. He mentions many great thinkers before him that have contributed, such as Thales of Miletus along with his disciples Anaxim...
The Confessions of St. Augustine was not, as some scholars have claimed, the work of a weak-willed or self-indulgent man. Rather, it was the work of a very determined and self-sacrificing individual who was looking back into his sinful past. When Augustine wrote the Confessions he had already been a...