29. Augustin's Theory of Faith
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- The epistemology of Augustin led naturally to his understanding of the central importance of faith, not only as related to religious devotion, but also with respect to the entire idea of knowledge and learning in any discipline. For Augustin, 'faith precedes reason,' or as he put it, 'I believe in order to understand.' This axiom is not to be taken as warrant for credulity or gullibility, but rather as an explanation of how some type of belief must precede any learning experience at all.
This is GOLD. Thanks Bruce. This session calmed some of the tension in my mind re the problem of evil, and confirms or parallels some of my thoughts about us being so supremely dependent on Him -- physical and spiritual life, restraining the evil in us and this world, the chosen of God being nurtured/sanctified to salvation vs the reprobate being given over (saving grace withheld), etc. Salvation is truly from the Lord (Jonah 2:9).
As you said, Augustin's response to the problem of evil is just one possibility. I think that God allows the "righteous" to be destroyed so that He can receive them unto himself in glory. And if He allows the wicked to inflict pain and suffering upon the "innocent" it is reasonable to think He allows it so that his judgment upon them may be just and that the blood of the "innocent" can stand as a witness against them it the last day. The "innocent" are taken home to God and the wicked are punished. That is a just trade-off.
"Absence of god is evil", is quite dualistic. So, good and evil is a competition between the presence and absence of god. So the ABSENCE of god EXISTS, so evil exists outside and independent of the existence of god. Quite manichean, I would say.
I could never teach this in my Sunday School class. I started to teach the Trinity and the Two Yahweh's in the Old Testament. I got raves by most, others said it was too deep.
Then I realized that most didn't have an understanding of the Old Testament, so I suspended the Trinity, and taught Old Testament Survey with a flavor of Hermenutics. I lost so many folks.
People today, in my church don't want Sunday School as learning anything new. They would often say, "gee, I never herd this before" I said that's great, your learning something. So they left. Its very frustrating in my church. I never had this problem in any other church before. I even taught youth some Greek in another church, and most were the bad kids. I also taught them Apologetics and all kinds of neat stuff like that.
The adults in my church now, just don't want to learn. They rather be spoon fed by the Pastor on Sunday morning.
I commend you. I do believe that Calvinists want to learn more than some other traditions, they just love and respect the Bible more and want to learn new stuff.
What about Free Will? and the human choice to pursue things less good on the chain of being instead of the highest good which is God? Evil is not created its nothing. Its the act of turning from the great good to the lesser good which constitutes evil.
For Augustin's view of free will, please check the video in this series on the Pelagian Controversy.
There is only one Christ church - Catholic
Hmm....so, Christ had the capacity to sin but chose not to? If Christ = God, then God has the capacity to do evil but chooses not to?
Christian theology has carefully distinguished the human nature of Christ from his deity (cf., Council of Chaldedon, 451 a.d.). The temptation of Christ is understood in regard to the humanity of Jesus, not his deity (cf. James 1:13). Thanks for your interest.
Is Augustin the same as Augustine of Hippo?
Yes, you're exactly right.