Augustine
Question 1
There are a number of different ways in which people can become faithful. There are arguments in two different ways. In some cases, Christians can become faithful as a result of their parents, through faith inculcation. In this case, the faithfuls are socialized into following the rituals in their environment, and this can translate into real faith as they become more aware of the reason behind these rituals and practices. It is passed on from individuals who have faith to those that do not and is one way of creating an environment in which faith can develop in an individual. Rituals and practices are important to people of many faiths, and this dynamic is valid as long as the individual is aware of how their faith development and the reason behind it.
For some people, faith develops as a result of a conversion to a certain faith. This may happen as a result of an important life event, where an individual may see a need for faith or feel that the life event happened because of God or another power. In this case, the individual has to learn the practice and thought behind that faith, usually at a later age than if they have grown up in a religious environment. The dynamics in this type of faith are somewhat different because they come from internal belief, rather than external forces as in the former.
Overall, I think there are a number of different ways how an individual can find (and lose) faith. Both types are equally valid, as individuals differ from each other and what they seek to gain from having faith. It is important to consider the reasons why someone has become faithful in Christ (or any religion) to help understand the different patterns of religion, and what they seek to gain from it, but ultimately it is what is important for that individual that matters. Those who convert to Christianity may feel as though they have not had the benefit of growing up in a religious environment, whilst those that grew up in a Christian environment might feel as though they have not truly experienced a faith-giving moment. Despite this, both types of people have faith that is important to them in their own way, which means that both types of inculcation have their place in the development of religion and faith.
Question Two
Augustine believed that in childhood, he was already shining, although he was not able to recall this part of his life and exactly how he sinned. The suggestion here is that all humans have the capacity for evil, and that this translates into evil acts. The challenge for Augustine is overcoming this and setting aside evil ways through age and faith. For Augustine, Christianity can help children to understand the difference between right and wrong, and is a tool for understanding morality. This is an interesting way of approaching the idea of morality and how each of us develops our own way of understanding the difference between good and bad acts because it suggests that everyone is born for the capacity for evil.
For me, I think people are ultimately born good. Children often behave badly, but I do not think that this is a sign of evil, rather a sign of behaviors that they do not understand. To be truly evil, I feel that the individual has to know what they are doing is wrong, and continue to do it anyway. Without intent, the immoral act simply becomes an accident, which I do not think should be punished in the same way as a truly immoral or evil act. This view has come from my observations about the world – there is a difference between manslaughter and murder, for example, which is recognized by the law. One is an evil act that happens on purpose with a knowledge that the action is wrong, and the other is an accident. I do not think these are morally the same, and that good people can be involved in manslaughter through careless, but not evil, actions.
Accountability is a term that describes the measure of how people should be punished for their actions. In many cases, the law represents the way that the individual is punished in terms of how accountable they are. This reflects the amount of knowledge that they had about the wrongdoing. For me, this is a fair way of assessing a crime, and I think that Christianity is also reflective of this. God is said to be all-forgiving, and I think this plays a part in this type of understanding of good and evil. Someone who engaged in an evil or immoral act without knowing that it was evil or immoral does not have the same accountability as someone who knew that the act was wrong but continued to do it anyway. There is a certain element of understanding how humans work and knowing that everyone makes mistakes involved with understanding whether humans are born good or evil.
Question Three
For Augustine, sin represents any action that is immoral or negative. Augustine believed that he was sinning from an early age, but that these were smaller versions of sins that can occur in the adult life. He believed that humans become sinners from the day that they are born and engage in acts that he considers sinful. For Augustine, the primary sins of a child are related to selfishness, and he believed that he engaged in selfish sins that were shocking even to adults who knew the world. He believed that any action that misdirected the positives that God gave him could be considered sinful.
Sin in the Confessions is an interesting topic. Evaluating it, I think that Augustine is often too hard on his childhood self, as in his list of selfish sins as a child there are many actions that can be considered bad behavior but are not necessarily evidence of being evil. For me, sin is a deliberately evil act, rather than something that is typical childhood behavior. Augustine seems to suggest that every act that is bad is a sin, which I think takes away from the severity of the term and the punishment that the Bible associates with sin. As noted above, I do not believe that children are inherently sinful, which is why my views differ from Augustine on this matter. There is more to sin than simply behaving as a normal child would.Despite this, I do see the logic behind this. For Augustine, the category of sin is concrete and refers to any action that goes against the Bible. It is useful and simple to categorize sin this way because it gives a clear limit to what is good and what is evil and how that action should be punished. It saves considering all the extenuating circumstances of an action to make a judgment of whether it is sinful, so it makes it simpler.
There is a positive role in the definition of sin to play for both Christian and non-Christians. It can help individuals to work out what they feel about their actions and the morality of different actions and behaviors. It can help people to strive to be better in themselves and to avoid actions that can be considered to be sinful. There are also negative elements of this definition of this sin as well. For me, the major negative is that it considers children to be sinful and it brings them up believing that they are inherently bad, which I think can be psychologically damaging. It is a good thing to teach children the difference between right and wrong, but I think defining all of their actions as sinful is a negative. It also means that people are limited in many ways, which can be good, but also means that some actions that were considered sinful in the days of the Bible are still applied. The difference between the viewpoints of Augustine’s era and the views of today mean that what is considered sinful and what is not can be confusing for Christians and non-Christians alike, and it is sometimes a bit simplistic to read the Bible without interpretation of what it means in context.
Question Four
Augustine considers the nature of love at several points in the Confessions. In Book II, he considers the nature of sinful, sexual love and how he overcame his desires. He discusses desire and passion in the context of his Christian faith and how it can lead people astray, and away from their worship of God. This is interesting because it highlights a view of love that is very different from the mainstream American way of loving and having relationships. Many Christians engage in sex before marriage and do not consider it an immoral act, but one of love for their partner. This is interesting to consider in the context of Book II of Augustine’s Confessions, in which he discusses his passionate, sexual life as a young man and how it is sinful.
In Book X, Augustine moves onto his pure love for God. He notes that this type of love is very different from the love in Book II because it does not rely on the five sense, but it exists in a more metaphorical sense, as a reflection of what Augustine feels on the inside. This type of love is considered to be a more pure love, based on reflection and the power of God to create love. In terms of the phrase “we are what we love”, this means that Augustine is a Christian and tries to act in the same way that God would, morally. Does this mean that all people who love God are like God? I am not sure that it does, but for Augustine it almost seems as though this is the argument that he is making in favor of the Christian faith.
There are a number of people that are important in my life that I love. I love my parents the most because they have given me a lot of strength in hard times and are always supportive. This type of love is a parent, platonic love. I love this way because society says that I should, but also because of the great things that my parents have done for me. This type of love develops as a result of a relationship or bond that you have with someone important, a type of love that develops as a result of spending time with someone. This type of love is the most important to me because it develops as a response to a relationship that has developed, rather than being an instantaneous attraction. The question of love for Augustine is an important way of approaching faith, but is also a way of understanding the different things that happen to us in our lifestyle.
Question 5
I think there are many things to respect about Augustine. It is important to acknowledge mistakes you have made in the past so that you can learn to move past them and avoid making the same mistakes twice. It is also important to be honest with your friends and family about those mistakes that you have made so that you avoid lying to them and yourself about how you are and what you have done in the past. I think Augustine deserves respect because he has published a book about how he came to be faithful, and he does not suggest that he is perfect simply because he is a Christian now. He acknowledges the struggle that it was to learn to overcome his flaws and to be able to grow in life.
I think his voice is one that is worth hearing because it can give people hope about how to turn their life around and to make choices that they are more comfortable with. It does not suggest that people have to be perfect forever, but that there is value in trying to improve and trying to move past your mistakes in the past. I think this could be a positive viewpoint for many people, particularly those who are considering becoming a Christian or returning to Christianity. It highlights the importance of being aware of your past and using it to become a better person, even if many of the stories in Augustine’s Confessions are based on scenarios that are unlikely to happen in the modern world.
I think vulnerability is a kind of strength. It is important to be vulnerable at times to open yourself up to new experiences and to let people into your life. If you are not vulnerable, you might never share secrets with someone important, and you might never get to know people that might become important in your life. I am definitely corrigible for the sake of truth and justice because I think it is important to listen to the words of others and understand how they think to truly define what is wrong and right and how it plays a role in determining morality. If we listen to the stories of the vulnerable, we can make moves to improve ourselves and our lives. Being vulnerable opens us up to new experiences and can help us to embrace the things we need to change about ourselves and our lives. If we are not vulnerable at times, then we cannot truly be open and honest with the people around us.
