In the early fifth century, the eruption of the Pelagian controversy surfaced several questions about the nature of human beings, wrongdoing, and grace into attention.There had been reasonably minute disagreements over human nature till that time in the Church. However, the situation changed with the Pelagian controversy. The name of Pelagius and St. Augustine of Hippo are particularly important in this regard and their views’ clash made people learn about many important theological principles.
For centuries, predestination has been one of the most controversial topics in the history of philosophical and religious studies. This controversy began in 390 A.D. after Pelagius, a renowned British monk, made a visit to Rome. The Roman lifestyle astonished Pelagius tremendously and he started to speak his mind against the extravagant living he observed at Rome. In the development, Pelagius began a discussion that can be described as ‘predestination vs. free will’ discussion ("Predestination: FREE WILL VERSES DETERMINISM" 1).
Pelagius was not am absolute theologian. Instead, he was a spiritual and ethical philosopher. It is important to mention that he had much respect for his credible knowledge. Initially, he was not famous. However, he gained fame when he started speaking out and creating a stir in the existing society. His teachings caused a flood of response. According to him, exercising restraint could help humanity to abstain from wrongdoings. He also believed that self-will of individuals could help them to enter heaven if they practice it truly. In his view, “God’s grace enabled one to resist more effectively, God’s gift of grace is manifested as humanity’s sin-resisting will” ("Predestination: FREE WILL VERSES DETERMINISM" 1). He did not believe in the concept of original sin and claimed that mankind is handed down a bad example by Adam. He also believed in the creation of Adam as a mortal being. He also believed that there is no purpose served by infant baptism and, therefore, Pelagius neglected this practice. As far as the idea of predestination was concerned, he considered it “nothing more than God’s foreknowledge of self-deserved merit” ("Predestination: FREE WILL VERSES DETERMINISM" 1).
Saint Augustine (Bishop of Hippo) was a great theorist and theologian. He is also known as the Doctor of Grace as he worked hard against the Pelagius’ views that nearly rejected the requirement of grace for salvation. In his teachings, Augustine beautifully demonstrated the complete dependence of man on God. Unlike Pelagius, Augustine decisively acknowledged that God’s grace is man’s source of salvation. With the passage of time, Augustine started using the term “predestination” for describing the liberation of man from his dilemma and troubles (Hannah 25).
Pelagianist views denied the idea of original sin and encouraged the idea that mankind could earn salvation. Although these mentioned concepts opposed the views of Augustine regarding grace through Christ; they helped Augustine to put more emphasis on his thoughts about the dogma of predestination. In his premature works, Augustine taught that God only selected those individuals whom He foreknew would choose to consider Him as their Creator unreservedly. Nevertheless, after becoming a mature preacher, Augustine began to promote predestination not based upon God’s foreknowledge but His sovereign and enigmatic preference. According to this mature theory, “God chooses to extend His saving grace to some (the elect), but not to all (bypassing the reprobate)” (Samples). As a consequence, God predetermines eternal life for some individuals and leaves some in their wrongdoing to be fairly damned through their personal preference and conduct (Samples).
Many people rejected the grand and horrifying principle of Augustine’s self-styled “double predestination." However, Augustine held the firm belief that, despite the fact that God’s act of determination may be discriminatory, it is not unreasonable. He presented the reason that wrongdoers have no affirmation to God’s grace. Thus, it depends on God to decide who shall be given grace. It is worth-mentioning that Augustine believed that his philosophy on the issue was a pure reflection of the Scripture’s teachings, particularly the Apostle Paul’s writings (Samples).
In addition, other views of Pelagius were also opposed by Augustine. Firstly, he denied that the mankind was born with original sin. Instead, he believed in the idea that human beings have an innate characteristic to be inclined towards sinful acts. He also believed in infant baptism. He also asserted that God does not take the credit for one’s moral doings but rewards man for his good accomplishments as man’s own work.
The strong views of Augustine’s predestination or determinism influenced many historic Roman Catholic intellectuals. However, Augustine’s modern philosophical equivalents do not consider his views as convincing. Some Protestant Reformers embraced Augustine’s predestination perspectives. Those include John Calvin and Martin Luther (Samples). To cut a long story short, the outlooks of both Augustinianism and Pelagianism are extremely different. They represent penetratingly opposite understandings of the approach in which humankind and God are related to each other. It is crystal clear that both Pelagius and Augustine had influential but opposing views. However, the predestination of Augustine became the order of the time as the Dark Ages were under the influence of Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches.
Works Cited
Hannah, John D.. The Kregel Pictorial Guide to Church History. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2000. Print.
"Predestination: FREE WILL VERSES DETERMINISM ." workmanmin. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.workmanmin.com/Studies/Predestination.pdf>.
Samples, K. R. "Augustine's View of Predestination: St. Augustine, Part 9."Reasons to Believe. N.p., 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <http://www.reasons.org/blogs/reflections/top-ten-things-augustine-contributed-to-philosophy-part-ii-2>.
