Augustine on Human Nature

Summary

This video explores Augustine's teachings on human nature, focusing on the profound impact of the Fall. Augustine believed that before the Fall, humans existed in harmony, with body, will, and reason in balance. After the Fall, pride led to the breakdown of this harmony, resulting in weakened willpower and uncontrolled desires, including lust. Augustine's views on original sin, the transmission of sin, and the necessity of God's grace for salvation are discussed, as well as modern critiques by figures like Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker, alongside contrasting theological perspectives.

Takeaways

• 📜 Augustine's teachings on human nature are central to Christian thought and deeply influenced by the concept of 'the Fall'.
• 👥 Augustine was influenced early in life by the Manicheans (dualist thinkers) and later by Platonism (followers of Plato).
• 🌳 According to Augustine, before 'the Fall', Adam and Eve lived in harmony, with their bodies, will, and reason perfectly balanced.
• ❤️ Augustine viewed human relationships, particularly marriage, as based on friendship, with sex being secondary and for reproduction only.
• 🍎 The Fall was caused by human pride, as Adam and Eve sought to be like God, leading to a disruption in their relationship with Him.
• ⚔️ After the Fall, Augustine explains that the will became weakened, leading humans to struggle with desires for food and sex.
• 👶 Augustine's idea of 'original sin' suggests that sin is transmitted through reproduction and that all humans inherit this flawed nature.
• ✝️ Augustine believed that salvation comes through God's grace, with Jesus Christ's death being key to overcoming original sin.
• 🧠 Modern critics like Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker view Augustine's ideas, particularly original sin, as irrational and outdated.
• 🌍 Theologians like Reinhold Niebuhr argued that rejecting the concept of sin leads to dangerous moral complacency, as seen in modern history.

Q & A

What were the two main influences on Augustine's early life?

Augustine was influenced by the Manicheans, who believed in a dualistic battle between light and darkness, and the Platonists, who followed the teachings of Plato.

How did Augustine view human nature before and after the Fall?

Before the Fall, Augustine believed human nature was in harmony, with the body, will, and reason balanced. After the Fall, this harmony was disrupted, leading to a weakened will and a disordered relationship with God and others.

What role does pride play in Augustine's understanding of the Fall?

Augustine viewed pride as the root cause of the Fall. Adam and Eve's desire to be like God, which led them to eat the forbidden fruit, was driven by pride, which he classified as disobedience and the origin of all vices.

How does Augustine's view of friendship differ from his view of sexual relationships?

Augustine believed that friendship was the highest form of human existence, especially between Adam and Eve before the Fall. Sex was secondary to friendship and was not lustful, only intended for reproduction.

What is Augustine's concept of 'double death'?

Augustine's 'double death' refers to the death of the human relationship with God after the Fall and the physical mortality that humans experience as a result of original sin.

How does Augustine explain the transmission of sin?

Augustine believed that sin is transmitted through reproduction. While babies may be born without sin, they inherit the capacity to sin due to human nature's corruption.

What is Augustine's stance on free will and predestination?

Augustine initially believed in free will but later leaned toward predestination, concluding that human nature's susceptibility to sin, ignorance, and death made it impossible for most people to be saved without divine intervention.

How does Augustine believe the damaged will can be saved?

Augustine believed that the will could only be saved through God's grace, specifically through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which removes the original sin inherited from Adam and Eve.

How do modern interpretations of Augustine’s teachings on the Fall differ from traditional views?

Many modern Christians interpret the Fall as an allegory for spiritual and psychological life rather than a historical event, seeing it as a representation of human susceptibility to temptation and imperfection.

What criticisms have been made against Augustine’s views on original sin and sexuality?

Critics like Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker argue that Augustine’s views on original sin are irrational, with Dawkins criticizing the focus on sin and guilt, while Pinker blames religion, especially Christianity, for social ills related to repression. Augustine’s emphasis on sex has also been linked to centuries of guilt and repression.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Augustine's Early Life and Influences

This paragraph introduces the focus of the video: Augustine's teachings on human nature. It briefly discusses Augustine's early influences, including the Manicheans, who believed in a dualistic world of light and darkness, and the Platonists, followers of Plato's teachings. The speaker notes that while Augustine rejected Manichean views, both influences shaped his thinking. The main focus then shifts to Augustine's view that human nature was profoundly affected by 'the Fall,' emphasizing the harmonious state of body, will, and reason before the Fall and how the will, created 'ex nihilo' (from nothing), plays a central role in love and choice.

05:02

🍎 The Fall and the Consequences of Pride

Augustine's interpretation of the Fall and the role of pride is central in this paragraph. Before the Fall, Adam and Eve lived in harmony, with sex being a part of their relationship but secondary to their friendship. Augustine sees pride as the root cause of the Fall, where Adam and Eve's desire to be like God led them to disobey Him. The consequence of this disobedience was the loss of harmony with God and the weakening of human will, making it more susceptible to bodily desires, such as hunger and lust.

10:02

🌀 The Weakened Will and Original Sin

This section delves into the concept of the weakened human will after the Fall, where Augustine suggests that humans are prone to uncontrolled desires, particularly lust. The will, while rational, struggles against bodily impulses, leading to a condition of 'concupiscence,' or uncontrolled lust. Augustine introduces the idea of 'double death'—the death of the relationship with God and physical death—as a result of the Fall. He also explains how original sin is transmitted through reproduction. Augustine’s views on predestination and the limited capacity for salvation are touched on, contrasting early free-will beliefs with the inevitability of sin.

🔄 Augustine’s Struggle with Predestination

This paragraph explores Augustine's eventual conclusion that humans, influenced by sex, ignorance, and death, cannot overcome sin without divine intervention. He wrestles with the concept of predestination, where only a few are saved, despite the attractiveness of free will, which allows moral choices. Augustine believes that perseverance in faith and hope can help humans reach the 'Summum Bonum' or highest good. Ultimately, salvation can only come through God's grace, as manifested through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, which removes the original sin inherited from Adam and Eve.

🔎 Modern Interpretations of Augustine’s Views

This paragraph discusses how Augustine's ideas are interpreted today, with many Christians viewing the Fall as an allegory for spiritual and psychological struggles rather than a literal event. The text emphasizes the journey from innocence to the complexities of human existence, including the capacity for great achievements and horrors, such as the Holocaust. The paragraph also introduces critiques of Augustine’s ideas, notably from Richard Dawkins, who views original sin as irrational, and Steven Pinker, who criticizes the role of religion, especially Christianity, in social ills.

⚔️ Criticism of Augustine’s Views and Legacy

This final paragraph summarizes the criticisms of Augustine’s emphasis on sex and original sin, which some believe has led to centuries of repression and guilt. It highlights Reinhold Niebuhr’s view that post-Enlightenment thinking has failed to adequately address human sinfulness, especially in the wake of events like the World Wars. The comparison between Augustine’s view of redemption through God's grace and Freud’s psychoanalytic approach is discussed, noting that while both focused on human sexuality, their solutions diverge sharply.

Keywords

💡Augustine

Augustine is a key figure in Christian theology, particularly noted for his views on human nature and original sin. In the video, Augustine's ideas form the foundation of the discussion on human nature, emphasizing the profound impact of 'the Fall' on human will, reason, and desire. Augustine's theological teachings explore the tension between the body, will, and reason in a post-lapsarian (after the fall) world.

💡The Fall

The Fall refers to the biblical event where Adam and Eve disobey God by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, leading to their expulsion from Eden. Augustine's view is that the Fall disrupted the harmony between the body, will, and reason, fundamentally altering human nature. This concept is central to Augustine’s teachings on the weakened human will and the introduction of original sin.

💡Original Sin

Original Sin is the inherited condition of sin that, according to Augustine, affects all human beings as a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience. Augustine explains that after the Fall, humans are born with a predisposition to sin, particularly through uncontrolled desires such as lust. This concept is crucial to understanding Augustine's view of human nature as inherently flawed and in need of divine grace for redemption.

💡Manicheans

The Manicheans were a religious group that Augustine was initially influenced by before rejecting their beliefs. They were dualists, meaning they believed in a cosmic battle between good (light) and evil (darkness). This early influence introduced Augustine to the idea of evil as a lower, external force, although he later developed his own ideas about evil and human nature that diverged from Manichean thought.

💡Platonic Rationalism

Platonic Rationalism refers to the philosophical ideas influenced by Plato, particularly the belief in the supremacy of reason over bodily desires. Augustine was influenced by these ideas, especially early in his intellectual life, as they aligned with his developing views on the soul, reason, and the nature of good and evil. However, Augustine eventually incorporated Christian theology to conclude that human reason alone is insufficient for salvation.

💡Will

In Augustine's teachings, the will is the human capacity to choose between good and evil, influenced by both reason and bodily desires. Before the Fall, the will was in perfect harmony with reason and the body, but afterward, it became weakened and subject to disordered desires like lust. Augustine's concept of the will is central to his explanation of human nature's corruption after the Fall.

💡Pride

Pride is identified by Augustine as the root of sin, particularly the sin that led to the Fall. He explains that Adam and Eve's desire to be like God, driven by pride, caused them to disobey God's command. This concept of pride as the first sin underscores Augustine's view of human nature as fundamentally flawed and susceptible to temptation.

💡Double Death

Double Death, according to Augustine, refers to both the spiritual death (the loss of the relationship with God) and physical mortality that humanity experiences as a result of the Fall. This concept highlights the comprehensive nature of human suffering and alienation from God in Augustine's theology, necessitating divine intervention for salvation.

💡Summum Bonum

Summum Bonum is Latin for 'the greatest good,' which in Augustine's theology refers to the ultimate goal of human existence: union with God and eternal happiness. Augustine teaches that despite the fallen nature of humanity, people should strive in faith and hope for this highest good, which can only be achieved through God's grace. The concept reflects Augustine's emphasis on divine grace as the means of salvation.

💡Grace

Grace is the unearned and transformative gift of God that, according to Augustine, is necessary for salvation and the healing of the human will. After the Fall, Augustine believes that humans cannot achieve goodness or salvation through their own efforts but require the grace of God, particularly through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to overcome original sin and be restored to a right relationship with God.

Highlights

Augustine's early influences include the Manicheans and Platonists, shaping his thoughts on human nature.

Manicheans believed the world is a battlefield between light and darkness, but Augustine later rejected this belief.

Platonists influenced Augustine's views on rationality and the tripartite nature of humans: body, will, and reason.

Augustine's teachings on human nature revolve around the concept of 'The Fall' of Adam and Eve, which disrupted harmony between body, will, and reason.

Before The Fall, human nature was in harmony, with the will capable of choosing good or evil and being synonymous with love.

Augustine emphasizes that Adam and Eve's relationship was one of friendship, with sex being secondary and non-lustful, purely for reproduction.

Pride led Adam and Eve to disobey God, triggering the Fall, which Augustine views as the root cause of all vices.

After the Fall, the human will became weakened and unable to control bodily desires, especially food and sex.

Augustine introduces the concept of 'divine id to will' or 'akrasia,' where humans know what is rational but are unable to follow it due to weakness.

The concept of original sin and double death: spiritual death (separation from God) and physical death, which humans suffer after the Fall.

Augustine suggests that original sin is transmitted through reproduction, impacting all future generations.

Augustine initially believed in free will but later concluded that humans are subject to influences like sex, ignorance, and death.

Predestination, according to Augustine, means that only a select few will be saved, but humans should still strive for the Summum Bonum (the greatest good).

Augustine's answer to the weakened human will is God's grace, which redeems humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Contemporary criticisms of Augustine come from figures like Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker, who view his ideas as irrational and outdated, especially regarding original sin and sexuality.

Transcripts

hello and welcome to the first of my

videos on developments in Christian

thought for OCR religious studies is a

year one and this particular video is

going to focus on August ins teachings

on human nature now the book goes into

quite a lot of detail about Augustine's

early life and influences I'm not going

to do so not because I don't think it's

worth it because it obviously is but

it's something that you can have a look

at yourself and the other thing is that

I'm not necessarily sure that it's going

to feature that heavily in the exam but

you never know so don't take my word for

it but to briefly mention Augustine

basically had two influences in his

early life one of his earliest

influences was that of a group of people

called the Manicheans Manicheans were

duelists who basically believed that the

world is a battlefield between the

lights and darkness they also believed

that suffering and evil were caused by a

lower evil power and their views were

quite controversial and those people who

mannequins could face prosecution and

persecution for their view so it's

something that Augustine rejected fairly

on fairly early on but no doubt was

influenced by it secondly he came under

the influence of a group of

intellectuals called the plate lists it

goes without saying that they followed

the teachings of Plato so as I have

already said this video is focused on

Augustine and human nature according to

Augustine human nature is profoundly

influenced by an event called the fall

which I'll go into in a little more

detail but basically Augustine says that

before the fall Adam and Eve lived in

harmony

and during this time the human body will

and reason we're in complete harmony so

if you like the human being is a kind of

tripartite being it comprises of the

human body of will and of Reason which

are held in balance and God created the

will X Neil oh now Agustin talks about

the world quite a lot so that's the

thing to focus on basically X Neil o is

from nothing

and the will can choose good bad to

accept or reject God the will is also

synonymous with love both self love and

generous love as I said before the fall

the human body its will and reason we're

in harmony and had a harmonious

relationship they kind of balanced each

other out and this can be seen in the

kind of relationship between Adam and

Eve

now Augustine differs from other

theologians by suggesting that Adam and

Eve were married in paradise and that

their relationship was one of friendship

however as the Bible says God commanded

Adam and Eve to go out and multiply and

so they were also sexual partners

however this was secondary to their

friendship friendship according to what

augustine is the highest expression of

human existence sex was therefore not

lustful but simply in order to reproduce

and after the fall friendship becomes

much more complicated and anguished and

in particular friendship between men and

women now as most people will know Adam

and Eve found temptation and they took a

fruit from the forbidden tree of

knowledge

now Augustine says that this is because

they desire to be like God and that this

kind of desire to be like God was as a

result of the human trait of pride

now we might regard pride as being

something you know which it could be

both good and bad in Augustine's case he

definitely thinks it's bad he says that

Adam and Eve decided to experience good

and evil by taking a fruit from the tree

of knowledge and the consequence being

that they no longer could enjoy a

harmonious relationship with God in

Augustine's version Satan doesn't cause

the fall but basically provides the

stimulus to disobey God

that's a another important factor now as

I've said Augustine considers pride

something which we might classify as

disobedience to be the cause of all

vices he says that because of this pride

because of what they have done Adam and

Eve now find themselves in a situation

where the will is in a weakened state

and it's basically unable to control the

body and craves two things food and most

importantly sex an Augustine goes on to

describe this as a divine ID to will or

as the ancient Greeks would call it a

crazier this is a will that possesses

rationality but is also susceptible to

weakness we can probably you know

illustrate this by giving the case of

you know you find yourself on a Monday

morning that the alarm goes off at 6:30

you know you have to get up because you

want to get ready for college or

whatever it might be and you find

yourself hitting the snooze button and

the rational side of you would say that

you have to get up and the irrational

side a weakened side of you basically

says hit the snooze button in the case

of Adam and all men in particular this

has led to a condition which I had

struggle of struggled to say come since

basically uncontrolled lust

now you know not content we're trying to

defeat me with another with a first

difficult word he oughta sting describes

a post lapse Aryan world basically post

lakhs Aryan is after the fall in this

world that humans suffer from original

sin and this is done denoted by a couple

of things the first is double death and

the second is the transmission of sin

and terms of double death Augustine

basically describes that as the death of

our relationship with God as it was

prior to the fall and also our own

mortality with regard to the

transmission of sin basically suggests

that sin is transmitted through

reproduction and so essentially babies

may well be born without sin but they

have the capacity to develop sin as

Augustine will described as say you know

later in terms of free will Augustine's

views change from initially believing in

free will through leading a life of

platonic rationalism so note the

influence of the plate lists to the

conclusion that sex ignorant and death

were too much for humans to overcome you

know they're basically susceptible to

sex ignorance and death that can't be

helped

and they will be influenced by that this

means that for Augustine predestination

meant that only a few people would be

saved now Augustine finds himself

slightly troubled by the idea and that

he believes in predestination because as

we'll see mostly illusions like the idea

of free will because it gives human

being

the capacity to do right or wrong

without God influence in those decisions

but Augustine says that humans should

persevere in hope and faith basically to

achieve what he calls the Summum bonum

the greatest good so Augustine's final

question is basically to ask how the

damaged will can be saved his answer is

through God's grace he says that this is

through the gift of Jesus Christ whose

death or through whose death the

original sin of Adam and Eve will be

removed so that's essentially

Augustine's

theory and as you can imagine that's

being written several hundred years ago

so the next question must be how do we

interpret Augustine today for many

Christians they see the fall is not a

historical event but as an allegory of

their spiritual and psychological life

they would say that this sort of

description that Augustine provides is

describing a journey which embraces both

innocence and the harsh realities of

life you know the fact that we are not

perfect human beings and that we are

susceptible to temptation the rejection

of God etc etc on a wider scale it also

shows how the human experience and

includes no great inch Eve McCune oh

great achievements and also you know the

horror of say for example the Holocaust

however you can imagine that this is not

without its criticism for the scientists

Richard Dawkins he believes that

original sin that is irrational and

dangerous as a biologist he says that

human corruption wasn't simply the

result of two human beings that's

nonsensical to him

he also points out that Christianity is

obsessed with sin guilt repressed

sexuality etc then he seems that he sees

these as kind of irrational hangouts and

lastly he says that the idea of God

restoring human nature by killing Jesus

is both irrational and seemingly met

sadomasochistic someone who would agree

with Richard Dawkins views is the

psychologist Steven Pinker he points out

that religion and a particular and

particularly Christianity of being

responsible for a number of social ills

but now you've now been subject to post

enlightened rationalism and what he

would call the humanitarian principle in

other words we kind of reject

Augustine's views and have a much more

rational perspective about the world

however again this this view is not

without its critics

in contrast the theologian Reinhold

Niebuhr pointed out the post

enlightenment sinking has failed niba

died in in I think about 1971 and lived

through the second world war and he

would point out that you know the

horrors of the first Second World War of

starvation etc amply illustrate the fact

that kind of post enlightenment sinking

has failed and the people sort of ignore

sin at their peril the last thing to say

about Augustine is that he's faced a

good deal of criticism that his emphasis

on sex in particular has led to

centuries of repression and guilt

familiarity with you know with the with

the teachings of Christianity would see

that very often you know sex is a

subject best avoided how

in the twentieth century we saw the work

of Freud and Freud appears to develop

many of Augustine's theories about sex

and despite rejecting Christianity and

seeing Christianity and other religions

as mere superstition however there are

differences obviously for Augustine

redemption is through God's grace but

for Freud it's through psychoanalysis so

hopefully that will give a reasonable

overview of Augustine's

a view of human nature and my next video

will be basically on death and the

afterlife