NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Saint Augustine was one of the foremost philosopher-theologians of the early Christianity and the leading figure in the church of North Africa. He had a profound influence on the subsequent development of the Western thought and culture. He also was responsible for shaping the themes and defined problems that characterized early Christian theology. Augustine was born at Thagaste in Numidia, which is part of present day Algeria. His father was a pagan, who was later converted, and his mother was a devout Christian.
She pushed so endlessly for her sons conversion who in fact was later canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. As a child he was schooled in Latin literature and later went to Carthage to study rhetoric, where he became a teacher. By the age of twenty he turned away from his Christian upbringing. He was repelled by its codes of behavior, but he never completely, but renounced it. At Carthage he became enthusiastic about philosophy after reading Ciceros Hortensius.
He considered becoming a Christian, but experimented with several philosophical systems before finally entering the church. For nine years, from 373 until 382, he adhered to Manichaeism, a Persian dualistic philosophy then widely current in the Western Roman Empire. With its fundamental principle of conflict between good and evil and its claim of a ration interpretation of Scripture, it seemed to supply Augustine with a reasonable amount of ethics. After he realized that the moral code of Manichaesism was unpleasantly strict, he abandoned this way of thinking and turned to skepticism.
After reading On The Two Cities, Augustine's thoughts on good and evil are very rational and fit together in my mind. Augustine makes a point that God created evil in order to contradict the good of the earth. There had to be a power or force that tries to draw you away from the right path. His thoughts and impressions of what God created are present in everyday life. If you really sit down and think about it, good and evil are in every movie, story, and tale from the beginning of time.
In my own words this is what I believe happened when God created good. God is the supremely good creator of good natures, and he is also the creator of evil. God caused the devil to be evil. The devil was originally an angel that was teetering on the edge of good and evil. God recognized this and decided that he was not fit to be an angel. He then took the good from him and created evil.
The creation of evil was based on the foresight of God. He saw in man an evil that was accumulating which in turn he needed to create a place for the evil in the world to dwell. Evil did not just appear and say that Im here now. There was a reason for the emergence of evil. Another reason for the emergence was the thought of Paul that said that sin is genetic. Sin comes with the territory of recreating and can not be purified only through the salvation and dedication of your life to the Lord.
The reason for the creation of evil in my mind was to in turn help to good in the world. There actually be beings in this world that are one hundred percent good, but never can there be an evil that has no good in it. God created evil for some way to deter us from consuming our lives with it. Evil is the path that is taken away from God. So, the evil in the world was created to set an example for us to stay on the good path to reach God in heaven. A common thread of faith and reason through two different theological visions of St.
Augustine in the readings. This can be seen that by comparing the language used to describe the visions. Vision 1: . In an instant of aw, my mind attained to the sight of the God who is. Then, at last I caught sight of your invisible nature, as it is known through your creatures. But, I had no strength to fix my gaze upon them.
In my weakness I recoiled and fell back Vision 2. And while we spoke of the Eternal Wisdom, longing for it and staining for it with all the strength of our hearts, for one fleeting instant we reached out and touched it. Then, with a sigh, leaving our spiritual hearts bound to it, we returned to the sound of our own speech. (p. 97) The two excerpts are written in similar styles. Both contain strong platonist ic language, such as references to the line. Examples of this are, the image of climbing to knowledge in the second vision, Confusion of images, in the first vision, and the sun in the first vision refers to tranquility. The language in each vision also refers tot he method of ascent.
In the first vision, Augustine makes his ascent through reason, seen in words like, my thoughts, bodily sense, and power of reason. In the second vision Augustine refers to his mother, Monica, with statements like flame of love, our hearts and strength of our hearts. The method of ascent to each of the visions is significant when considering the role that faith and reason play in each. Together, the method of ascent, faith, and reason represent Augustine's journey to faith.
The first ascent is necessarily made by mind and reason, necessarily because Augustine has yet received faith, which would enable him to go further. Augustine begins his ascent questions about the nature of his mind. He tries to answer through consideration of material things, the soul, and reason itself. Everything that he deliberates is arrived by a reasonable chain of thought that takes place in his mind. Augustine and his mother, Monica, make the second ascent through the love for God. Because faith reveals divine knowledge, which is more important than human knowledge, reason becomes of secondary importance.
The ascent of Augustine and Monica begins with the question of what a saints eternal life would be like. The question of significance of Monica's presence may arise. When considered in an allegorical context, the presence of Augustine's mother is significant. In the first vision, Augustine is thinking in his own mind, with no other options available. This represents the solitary state that he is in with God. In the second vision he is involved in conversation with his mother, a saintly women.
This represents a new state of communication with God and Augustine. After a close examination, it is obvious that faith and reason play a fundamental role in connecting the two visions of Augustine. In this text, faith and reason are unmistakably related, as has demonstrated repeatedly.
Free research essays on topics related to: ascent, augustine, evil in the world, good and evil, god created
Research essay sample on Good And Evil Evil In The World
